Luscious Sin
by The Queen of Mean
Summary: I pledge allegiance to the destruction of the United City of Gotham, and to the chaos for which it stands, one inferno under Joker, decomposable, with imprisonment and hand grenades for all. In Joker We Trust. Sequel to Sweetest Vice. Rated M for a reason
1. Prologue

Prologue

The computer screen beeped at Jayde for the twelfth time as she pressed her finger to it, only to sigh, rolling her eyes when she found it had only been ten minutes since she last checked the time. She wasn't sure why, but this shift seemed to be moving at a much slower rate than the rest of them had since returning to work at Starbucks.

_It could be all the fun and interesting things I have to do when I get home, _Jayde thought to herself sarcastically in relation to the seemingly abysmal amount of time left before she could go home. The sound of the front doors swinging open brought with it a fresh wave of customers all wanting their caffeine fix, so Jayde took a deep breath, trying not to groan in aggravation as she took her place at the espresso machine.

The weather was gorgeous outside, leaving the inside of the coffee shop crisp and golden, throwing an unwanted amount of light onto the left side of her face as she steamed milk. Every time someone stood at the hand-off counter, it felt as though their gaze was burning her and it took every ounce of will-power Jayde had to keep from looking up and saying "what the fuck are you looking at?"

As appealing as that scenario appeared every time she considered it, Jayde knew it was unfair of her to assume people were staring, appalled, at the scar on her cheek. It seemed that the whole of Gotham had heard by then about her 'hostage situation' as Jim Gordon had done a press conference the very next day, announcing the GPD's 'heroic rescue' from the clutches of the Joker. Of course, that had been nearly three months ago now, but still Jayde could not quell her irritation every time she caught someone gazing at her face interestedly.

Her co-workers had spent nearly a week since her return assuring her that the scar was not as noticeable as she thought it was and that "no one would really notice it unless they knew it was there!" Jayde had put on her happy face and said thanks but she knew they were lying; the scar was as obvious as it had been a week after it had been put there.

Decades later it seemed, Jayde was finally pressing the 'clock- out' button on the computer with a heavy sigh, pulling the black hat from her hair to let it dangle from her wrist while she stepped outside onto the busy street. Having been at work since seven that morning, Jayde was mildly surprised at how awake she was feeling and however daunting that trip to the grocery store seemed when she woke up, she knew it would be a matter of time before she absolutely _had _ to go. So instead of the old path she normally took to her apartment, she made a left and crossed the street toward the grocers.

Another hour later, the plastic bags Jayde was now carrying kept swinging and hitting her legs, nearly knocking her over as she trotted up the stairs of her apartment. Above her, she heard a door open, close and before long, her neighbor appeared with her dog, coming down the stairs toward her. Jayde smiled and wasn't planning on speaking, however the middle-aged woman paused, glancing down at the four bags hanging from Jayde's hands.

"Hey there, sweetie!" she nearly squealed. "You back from work? Want some help with those?"

Jayde took a deep breath, trying to hide the fact that she was a little winded from the three flights she had already climbed. "Uh, no." she answered, smiling. "I mean, yes, I'm back from work, but no, I don't need any help. Thank you, though." Her voice had remained pleasant although Jayde could tell the woman was maybe the slightest bit put down that her assistance wasn't needed.

"Alright, well, have a good day, sweetie!" she chimed, continuing on her way down while Jayde finally reached the door to her floor.

Ever since Jayde's return, Ms. McCarthy had been relentless, trying to make Jayde into something of a friend for her. She was a single woman, divorcee, living with her dog and seemed to have a knack for watching the news and knowing about every thing that went on in the apartment complex. She had offered bracing words of what she considered comfort the first time they ran into each other after Jayde's return to the apartment.

"_You know, he'll probably get the death penalty now they have him. I cant believe anyone could do what he did to you, Jayde. You are a much better woman than even me, I would have killed him." _

Jayde couldn't help but laugh to herself every time someone said something like this to her.

The inside of her home was exactly as she had left it; empty. By now, Jayde had abandoned her routine of hoping beyond hope that someone would be inside there every time she came home so she continued to the kitchen without second thought, setting the bags down on the counter before she moved to the living room, taking a deep breath as she went.

Her couch was almost too inviting but the moment she sat down, she instantly regretted it. She sighed again, sliding her eyes closed to lean her head back against the cushions as her hand instinctively reached up to the silver chain around her neck. Her hand followed it down until she felt the pendant at the bottom; it was warm from her body heat. Her chest gave a vague ache at the thought of her incarcerated best friend and how stupid she was for giving in to her memories

It had taken a while to train herself not to just wallow in loneliness. She had been doing a good job of distracting her mind by staying impossibly busy but every time she stopped long enough to sit down for more than a few minutes, the thoughts and memories came rushing back in as though she had opened some mental flood gate.

Moments later, as though rescuing her, the low rumble of Jayde's stomach disturbed the peaceful quiet hanging through the apartment. The groceries she had bought were still on the kitchen counter so she stood to answer that call and make something for dinner.

Besides the news at six, practically nothing was on TV, save for a few documentaries and stupid MTV shows. Jayde rolled her eyes as she stood up to put a movie in and get some nail polish from her room to do her toes. She was never really an avid television watcher but since returning to her boring life, she had tried actively to take it up, deciding that some of these shows were not so bad and it was better than being _out_ of the house doing nothing.

The clock in her kitchen read eleven o'clock when Jayde finally remembered she was supposed to be at work the next morning at nine so with her freshly red toenails dry, she put everything away before brushing her teeth.

Her eyes made contact with her reflection in the mirror above the sink and she sighed, her shoulders slumping again. The scar was still there. With Joker, it was easy to forget about it and not care that it was there, considering one's current company but in life, in _normal_ life, it was like walking around with a sign that said 'freak show'…at least that was how Jayde felt.

Her bed, on the other hand, was perfectly warm and comfortable as she slid between the soft lilac sheets, taking a deep breath as her eyes fell onto her nightstand drawer. For a while after finding the picture, Jayde had kept it stowed away in that drawer, waiting until she felt she was ready to take it out. A month seemed long enough at the time, but after the first few times it caught her eye before she went to bed and first thing in the morning, she noticed it was doing nothing more than bothering her. She had put it back in the drawer after only a few days. Why remind herself of what she was missing?

So she left it there and turned over to face the windows.

_Maybe tomorrow. _

_Disclaimer: Any original character belongs to me. Joker belongs to his rightful creator(s). _

_I appreciate you guys following this saga. First official chapter is in the works so expect that within the next few weeks. Since this story has such a magnificent fan base (thank you), reviews are obligatory and I appreciate them more than you understand. You all are the best! - QOM_


	2. Guilty Until Proven Innocent

The alarm clock next to Jayde's bed read 7:58 the next morning when her eyes opened- two minutes before her alarm was set to go off. It just figured her body would wake her up one hundred and twenty seconds before she had to force herself out of bed. As she stood up groggily, the birds in the tree just past her balcony were screeching noisily, which she figured may have aided in her rather rude awakening. Squinting slightly, Jayde hobbled into clean clothes before going to brush her teeth and put some mascara on.

It seemed every time Jayde put any makeup on, she wondered why she did it, but then would reflect on how she had just looked and see the connection. There had to be some sort of compensation for the scar on her face.

Her hat and apron lay in the same position she had left them in the day before so after grabbing both, she stepped out into the hallway, bracing for another run in with Ms. McCarthy and her dog. However, upon turning around, Jayde found the entire floor was empty and she sighed, smirking a bit as she walked toward the stairs.

Once downstairs, the freezing morning air outside caught Jayde slightly off-guard, causing a short gasp to escape her as she tightened her coat across her chest. The snow she had noticed yesterday lining either side of the brick walkway to the street had started to melt in the morning sun, leaving the ground wet and a bit slick. Jayde tried hard not to fall and give every single person nearby something to laugh about for the rest of the day.

Starbucks seemed closer than ever that morning and after squeezing through the front doors and dazed customers crowding the store, Jayde found her way to the counters, gritting her teeth to keep from groaning. One o'clock seemed ages away but she figured the sooner she got busy and distracted, the sooner it would be there.

It seemed only a few minutes had gone by when Jayde looked up from the bar, once the line had gone down a bit and was surprised to check the clock to find it was already nearing noon. A huge grin slid across her face as she sighed, taking her hat from her head to wipe her forehead on her forearm. She wished Starbucks could be this busy all the time.

But almost as soon as she had wished this, the doors swung open again and a new group of customers came filing in; maybe she spoke a little too soon. The first few drinks ordered were cold frappucino drinks, meaning Jayde needed to have her back turned to the customers for a few moments, giving her the perfect opportunity to roll her eyes generously. Pretty much the only people that ordered these blended, milkshake type drinks were either teenagers or pregnant women needing their chocolate or caramel fix. Sure enough a few youngsters were chatting noisily at the hand-off counter, not even bothering to thank Jayde as they attacked the whipped cream oozing from the top of the dome lid.

"Yeah, you're welcome." She muttered under her breath as she moved to glance at the next cup.

It was a triple grande, soy latte and as Jayde leaned down to get the soy milk from the fridge, she thought to herself "_twenty bucks says this is for a gay guy or a diva…or both." _

No sooner had she began steaming milk, she heard a quiet voice from the hand-off plane say "Jayde", causing her heart to skip several beats in succession.

Looking up, Jayde stifled a gasp when she noticed a pair of bright green eyes peering at her from underneath a black baseball cap. His curly red hair was nearly bursting out from under the hat as he adjusted it awkwardly on his head; it was Dotcom.

His smile seemed slightly anxious as he watched Jayde gawk at him, momentarily stunned into silence.

"Oh my god…Um…Andrew?" she finally stammered, glancing around nervously although she could have jumped across the counter and hugged his neck at that moment. The steam wand began to scream as she neglected it in her temporary distraction.

"Yeah, hey. I figured I would find you here when no one answered at your apartment…" he paused, scrunching his nose to push his glasses back up a bit. "We need to talk."

Jayde's stomach again clenched up; his tone did not sound excited nor happy.

"Yeah, hang on, is this your drink?" she asked, glancing back at the soy latte she was supposed to be finishing. Dotcom nodded, smiling when Jayde grinned to herself.

Once she had handed it to him, Jayde told him to wait while she finished the last two drinks and went over to ask her shift supervisor if she could take a break for a few minutes. Permission was granted so she took off her hat and apron hastily, tossing them on the counter before joining Dotcom at the front doors to step outside to the farthest empty table. Once seated, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapping them lightly on the table before he opened it and lit one, inhaling deeply. Jayde watched him but then extended her hand when he offered her one.

It stayed silent for a few moments while Jayde lit her cigarette, meanwhile Dotcom watched her, his eyes scanning her face.

"How have you been?" he asked gently, nodding wisely when Jayde rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair with a heavy sigh, but did not answer.

"How about you?" she asked after another few moments. Dotcom shrugged, taking a sip of his latte.

"I've been better." He paused, leaning forward after looking around. "Alright, so…listen…" his voice dropped to a low murmur. "You remember that cop working for…you-know-who?" he asked. "Officer Linman?"

Jayde could remember seeing him, but had never heard his name before. She nodded anyways, encouraging him to go on.

"He and I have been in contact. He's been keeping me informed on what has been happening on the inside…with…you-know-who."

Jayde felt a rush of excitement at this information, but felt that emotion drain from her body quickly when Dotcom's face fell slightly.

"Please, tell me. Just spit it out." she encouraged him, bracing herself mentally.

Dotcom took a deep breath, glancing around.

"Joker is due in court tomorrow and…it's not looking good." He finally said, but continued, avoiding eye contact with Jayde until he had finished. "His list of charges is like a page and a half long and…" he paused again, clearing his throat. "The DA is lobbying for the death penalty."

"WHY?" Jayde suddenly asked loudly, causing several people nearby to turn and glance at her. She lowered her voice quickly, swallowing hard to push that lump in her throat back down. "That can't happen." She then put stubbornly. Across from her, Dotcom nodded, leaning forward on his seat.

"Which is what Linman and I both said." He stopped abruptly, taking a sip of his drink as if in an effort to keep his next words in his mouth. A few moments later, he went on. "Just promise me, Jayde, that you'll keep your head down over the next week or so. Things are happening fast and we need to play our cards right."

At that same moment, when Jayde was about to ask what he meant, her boss walked up, telling her she needed help so Jayde and Dotcom stood, facing each other. She wasn't really sure what to say.

"Look, I get off in a half hour…If you want to meet me at my place, we can-…" she began but Dotcom was already shaking his head.

"I can't. I'm headed to meet Linman right now but you and I will be in touch…soon." He promised, and after a quick hug, he took off, leaving Jayde as confused and distressed as ever.

An hour later, Jayde cursed loudly at her empty apartment and she slammed the door behind herself, causing several of her shelves to rattle precariously in the kitchen. Anger such that she had never felt before was coursing through her veins like poison and gritting her teeth to keep from screaming, Jayde snatched up a small empty vase on her hall table and threw it at the far wall as hard as she could. The glass made abrupt contact with the plastered wall and exploded, tinkling over the hardwood floor like small pieces of ice.

Her chest was still heaving from running up nearly six flights of stairs and it took every once of will-power she contained to keep from grabbing another object and throwing it too. Her back met the wall behind her gently as she tilted her head back, closing her eyes to try and steady herself. It was not immediately obvious to her why she was so angry, but on second thought, it may have had something to do with the fact that her constant hoping, praying that Joker would be able to break out seemed pointless now.

Nearly every day for three months, Jayde had woken up, hoping beyond reason that when she turned over, he would be there, sitting in the corner watching her sleep with that crooked grin mangling his features. She knew it was ridiculous but something about having that small bit of anticipation was comforting to her, even if it seemed impossible upon reflection.

"_Don't cry, don't cry…" _she told herself, opening her eyes abruptly. "_It's not worth it, you'll just get upset."_

Deciding to leave the broken glass where it lay and worry about it later, Jayde made her way into the living room, immediately moving to sit on the couch and flip on the TV. She knew the news wasn't exactly airing right then but Gotham, after all, was a fairly eventful city and there was usually some talk going on about something current. Jayde mentally crossed her fingers, praying something about Joker's court date would be on.

She was let down once again, however, when she found the weather man jabbing away about how Gothamites should be expecting another few inches of snow over the next few days. Sighing heavily, Jayde felt a small bit of anxiety drain from her body when she remembered Dotcom's words. He had said that it was only a _possibility _ for Joker getting the death penalty, and even then, it didn't seem likely that he would be put ahead of all the inmates currently sitting on death row, awaiting a day that was still many years away. Jayde assumed this was just her form of wishful thinking and that the best way to forget about it, was to forget about it.

Even though she kept telling herself she wasn't hungry, Jayde found herself pretending to make lunch, all the while thinking of the gray hoodie sweatshirt stowed away in the back of her closet. She had kept it there since the day after she had returned to her apartment and had only taken it out a handful of times since then. She would bury her face in it, inhale deeply, filling her brain with that familiar scent then hastily shove it to the back of her closet again before she gave into the temptation of putting it on.

Again, this time, she could not help herself and while her lunch was warming on the stove, she moved into her bedroom to the closet where the heap of black duffle bags on the floor met her. She knew exactly where it was but fumbled around none the less, hoping her better judgment would kick in and tell her to forget it while she was 'looking'. But her fingers beat her to it and felt the soft, worn fabric between them as her heart gave an achy pang. As she pulled the sweatshirt from the pile of bags, her mind flashed back to the first time she ever saw him wearing it and she quickly pressed it to her nose.

She did not inhale at first, knowing now that this could possibly be one of the only things she would have to remember her friend by, besides the rest of his old clothes and makeup brushes…that was if he was going to be executed. Hot tears began to gather at the inner corners of her eyes but Jayde sniffed heavily with her face still buried into the sweatshirt, bringing that familiar mixed wave of cologne, gasoline and a scent that was unique to Joker.

Only a second later, however, Jayde threw the sweatshirt back into her closet haphazardly, feeling a bit of that previous anger creep up on her again. She could hear the water on the stove boiling and bubbling away so she shut the closet to go make that tea she had been wanting.

It seemed so unfair to Jayde, as she dipped three bags of tea into the pot, that Dotcom would randomly show up at Starbucks just to give her some horrible news like that. It had completely upset the track she had been going down, of forgetting about Joker, moving on and getting used to being a part of a normal life again. Now, all she wanted to do was go down to the courthouse herself just to hopefully catch a glimpse of him. But then again, Dotcom had told her to keep her head down, so there went that idea. Jayde huffed irritably to herself as she moved about the kitchen.

She could remember Detective Mitchell calling a few weeks after she had been forced back to her life to ask rather politely if Jayde would consider testifying against Joker in front of a judge and jury. Of course, unbeknownst to the detective, that would require lying under oath in open court which could result in a lot of trouble for both Jayde and Joker. She had declined, with the excuse that she just was not ready to give the details of her 'kidnapping' and 'rape' in front of so many people. Detective Mitchell said she had understood and that there was enough evidence on The Joker to convict him without her help. Upon looking back now, Jayde wished there was more she could have done to lighten the blow to Joker's fate.

The next day, Jayde was off from work and vowed to herself as she cleaned up from making dinner that she would sit in front of that television all day and watch the news for any word on the trial.

Nothing seemed more pleasant at the moment than getting a really hot shower after eating so she obliged, noticing as she went that the hair on her legs was once again, exceedingly long. She swore, sometimes, that she forgot she was a girl and was supposed to shave every week or so. Jayde shrugged to herself as she stepped into the shower after grabbing a razor and shaving cream; it _was _wintertime and she _did _ kind of need the extra fur.

A half hour later, Jayde emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, her legs slick and smooth again finally. Clean underwear and a tank top seemed the only thing she felt like wearing to bed but after putting both on and finding herself still a bit cold, Jayde glanced about her room for something else warm to put on. Her mind quickly thought back to that sweatshirt she had thrown in the closet earlier. She paused in the middle of her room, weighing the consequences of wearing Joker's sweatshirt to bed. It didn't seem like it could hurt anything since Jayde was already pretty anxious about his court appearance the next day. Maybe if she wore his sweatshirt, it would send some sort of good luck his way and Joker would only be sentenced to life, plus twenty-five years in prison, versus death by lethal injection.

Crossing the room to her closet, Jayde quickly found it again and put it on, wrapping it around herself and pulling the sleeves up slightly so she could use her hands to brush her teeth. Instantly that mix of scents reached her senses but instead of holding her breath, she welcomed it, inhaling deeply.

Curling up in bed was always Jayde's favorite time of the day, but this day in particular, it felt especially welcoming. With her eyes closed, everything seemed less daunting and tiring. Her body felt immediately exhausted and it was not long at all before Jayde was drifting off, her hands still closed tight around the edges of Joker's sweatshirt.

It seemed in no time at all, Jayde was rolling over to find her bedroom soaked in bright, morning sunlight. Squinting, she sat up but glanced down only to sigh when she noticed the sweatshirt she was still wearing. It had done exactly what she hoped it wouldn't; she immediately remembered Joker's trial. That anxiety she had been feeling the day before returned full-fledged and suddenly, she felt as tired as if she had not slept at all. For a few moments, she considered staying in bed under her covers but her curiosity for any news on the trial over-powered that desire.

The living room seemed icy in comparison with her warm toasty bed but after grabbing a thick blanket she curled up in it on the couch, zipping up the Joker's sweatshirt as she went. Within moments she was warm although the nerves she felt upon flipping to the news caused her to shiver slightly.

A woman with blonde hair was currently showing a map of some of the interstates leading in and out of Gotham and was telling Jayde that traffic was due to be heavy until noon or so. Jayde rolled her eyes heavily. Who gave a flying fuck about traffic? Why was there even a segment on the news for that sort of thing? If one is stuck in traffic, they were more than likely not watching TV. So while this continued, Jayde went to the kitchen to start a press of coffee.

All afternoon, the news went on and on, seemingly touching on every single topic they could imagine except the trial going on at the courthouse. After a while, Jayde deliriously began to think they were doing it on purpose to torture her and thought it might be a good idea to change the channel for a bit. But a moment later, upon second thought, she had a feeling the moment she changed it, something would come on about the trial so she left it alone.

More than anything she wished she could call Dotcom and get some news, she thought as she watched mindlessly. It had been obvious when they spoke the previous day that he had known more than he was letting on and the fact that she had no way of reaching him was rather infuriating. For a split second, she thought of looking through her phone but then again, she could not remember putting his number in there…she wasn't even really sure he _had _ a number.

The day passed as slowly as it possibly could and by three o'clock, Jayde was considering giving up all together and walking down to the courthouse. She knew there was a slim chance of her actually seeing him or even Dotcom, but it sure beat sitting in her apartment alone, waiting on tenterhooks for a scrap of news.

But luckily, or not, at around five o'clock, Jayde was in the kitchen, debating on what to make for dinner when she heard the jingle come on for the official news program and halted with her back turned, listening. The beginning of the first story sounded as boring and uninteresting as the entire day of news had.

"This evening, we bring you breaking news from the Gotham police department and the Gotham county courthouse…"

Jayde felt her stomach drop to her knees and despite herself, she trotted back over to the couch, plopping down as she punched the top of the volume button. She tried not to but she could not help but stick her hands inside Joker's sweatshirt pockets and hold on tight.

"Terrorist and deranged psychopath, The Joker was finally sentenced today after several months of investigation. After mere moments of deliberation, the jury found the inmate guilty of almost one hundred crimes, including arson, murder and terrorism. Due to the severity of his crimes, the Joker has been given the death sentence and is set to receive execution by lethal injection on March the first of this year…Finally, an end to a reign of terror, none of Gotham will forget for years to come. In other news…"

The newswoman went on but Jayde's ears had been filled with a low, droning, humming noise, drowning out whatever other sound was present. Her stomach, which had tensed up in anticipation, now relaxed forcefully, leaving her feeling as thought she was about to be sick.

There it was, the wait was over. The Joker was at his end; he had finally met his match.

** Well, then! Things are just moving on along quite nicely, aren't they? Leave me LOTS of reviews and our next chapter just might come out within the next few days…. –QOM


	3. dreamsFineLinereality

The water Jayde had put to boil on the stove an hour ago had all evaporated by the time she made it back to the kitchen, her eyes red and slightly swollen. The burner was still on so she switched it off before placing the now scalding pot into the sink, along with the other dishes she had abandoned. Her appetite had disappeared altogether and although she did feel slightly stupid for crying, she really could not help it and had only just pulled herself out of it to finish cleaning up from the meal she never made.

Something about wearing Joker's jacket after hearing the news made her angry and she had thrown it back into her closet only to slam the doors with such force, one of them nearly broke off.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Jayde stared at the carpet between her knees, begging herself not to start crying again. It felt like every time she thought of Joker now, it was one step backward versus forgetting about him and moving on. When she thought about it deep enough, she had really only known him for a month or so but somewhere along the way, she had formed a bond with him that went beyond friendship. Sure they had sex a few times but Jayde felt like Joker truly understood her, like she never really needed to convey exactly how she was feeling because she clearly did not need to. The Joker was someone around which Jayde felt like she could truly be herself and something in that alone made him comforting, even though he was very difficult to be around half the time. But all of that was gone; Joker was going to be executed.

For a few moments while she sat there, crazy plans of revenge on the police department began to form in her brain, plans of blowing up something or shooting someone. Jayde brought herself back to reality quickly, however, knowing it would not do anyone any good to get herself locked up.

It was not long before Jayde felt too mentally exhausted to keep her eyes open, too worn out to wonder what was going to happen now. She supposed she would hear from Dotcom within a week or so and maybe he could actually be something of a real friend to her now, someone she could go out with and laugh with, someone she could talk about Joker with.

After turning off the television and making sure the kitchen was straight, Jayde locked the front door before trudging into her bedroom, not even sparing a second thought on wearing Joker's sweatshirt to bed. She brushed her teeth without looking in the mirror, knowing the sight of her scar would once again remind her of how his hand had felt holding her face when he sewed the cut back up and how his brown eyes had looked just inches from her own. Instead, she closed her eyes tight, trying to somehow suck the tears back in that had started to mercilessly gather again.

Every light in the apartment had been switched off, leaving nothing but the orangey glow from the streetlight outside her balcony, the only sound being the soft breeze rustling the tree's empty branches. At first, Jayde's eyes would not stay closed, as every time she tried, the only thing she could see in her mind was Joker laying, strapped to a table, wearing an orange jumpsuit. She wasn't sure how, but she knew Joker would have a peaceful grin on his face as the police officer administered the lethal dose to the tube leading into his vein. He would probably take a deep breath and sigh contentedly as he felt the injection meet his bloodstream and from there, he would drift off to meet death with open arms; no fear or thoughts of remorse would be present. Jayde hiccupped slightly at imagining all this but forced herself to keep her eyes closed. The next day would probably be immensely difficult to get through but at least she was not expected at work again and could take a day to mourn properly, although she knew that Joker would not want her to be sad.

Finally, after nearly an hour of lying awake, Jayde drifted off into a deep, dream-filled slumber. First, she was running along the streets of Gotham toward a destination she could not name. It felt immensely far away at the time and no matter how far she felt she was running, that finish still seemed farther and farther out of reach. Gotham dissolved rapidly from under her feet to form steps too innumerable to count, climbing, reaching upward toward a huge, stone building marked 'COURTHOUSE'. In her dream, she could feel an indescribable need to make it inside that building but no matter how hard and fast she climbed the steps, the doors never grew closer.

Her dream then changed forms to have Jayde laying in her own bed, rolling over sleepily when she felt part of the mattress vibrating. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyes when her cloudy gaze fell onto the side profile of a man sitting just on the edge of her bed only a foot or two away from her. It was still pitch black in her bedroom, just as it had been when she was awake and the amber glow from the streetlight outside was causing the man's clothing to appear a thick, bright orange.

However, as Jayde sat up, she felt her heart begin to bang rapidly against her ribcage, just as the man sitting on her bed turned his head and her breath caught in her chest. If she had been dreaming, she was positive she would not be able to feel her heart beating so hard. Rising onto her knees, Jayde's mouth hung slightly open and she held onto the breath in her lungs, knowing if she exhaled, the extremely lifelike mirage of The Joker sitting just inches from her would disappear.

"J-…Joker?" she put hesitantly at first, knowing this dream was about to come to an abrupt halt. Any moment she would wake up alone in her bed.

"Y-_yes?_" a raspy, clowny voice answered and Jayde exhaled, moving forward on her knees slowly until she could reach out, but she paused at first, bringing her hand back.

"Am I dreaming?" she asked in a whisper, her face only a foot away from this fake-Joker sitting on her bed. He shook his head quickly, swallowing hard.

"No."

Jayde let out a soft gasp of mingled pain and absolute disbelief before she threw her arms around his shoulders, although a second later, she gasped again, jumping up from the bed. In all her doubting and 'dreaming' she failed to notice that the bed had been vibrating because Joker was shivering violently and only now did she notice he was soaking wet from head to toe.

"Oh my god! You're freezing! Get up, come in here." Jayde was wide awake now and grabbed his arm, pulling him up from the bed toward the bathroom. He followed her lethargically, squinting hard when she threw on the bright bathroom light.

As Jayde started the water, it came out at first as cold as ice so she held her hand under the streams for a few moments, giving her a few seconds to turn around and have her heart stop beating. There he was, he was really standing in her bathroom, his arms folded tightly across his stomach as he tried hard to stop shivering. His eyes were closed against the light but as Jayde spoke, he came back to.

"Get in here, its only lukewarm right now so it wont hurt, go on." she urged him, watching as he stepped into the shower, shivering more violently than ever as the water began to hit him. Only a second passed however before he sighed, moving to sit in the bottom of the tub, still in his ugly orange jumpsuit as he let the water wash over him.

Jayde was still in such shock that she just stood there for a few moments, gaping at him until he noticed and frowned up at her, one eyebrow cocked.

"Well, aren't you getting in too?…Or are ya just gonna stare at me…"

Without hesitation, Jayde stepped into the shower, sitting down in the tub facing him, still unsure of what to say as the water began to mat her hair down. Across from her, however, Joker was sitting indian style and was now grinning at her from behind half-lidded eyes.

"Hi."

"Hi." Jayde answered, smiling back although she had to try hard not to let her expression show she had started to cry. She sniffed slightly as water dripped down her face, thankfully camouflaging her tears; crying felt stupid to her now more than ever. Across from her however, Joker was not fooled and he reached out, wrapping his fingers around her forearms, pulling her closer so their legs locked.

"Why are you _crying?" _he asked, peering into both of her eyes individually as she sniffed again, harder. "I thought you'd be happy."

Jayde laughed, reaching up to wipe her eyes, even though she was completely wet. "I _am _happy, I just can't believe you're here!" she answered. "I mean just a few hours ago, I thought you were going to be-…" she paused, shrugging. "-…you know." Across from her, Joker raised his eyebrows, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I know!" he exclaimed, looking rather proud. "Pretty…a-maze-ing of me to _escape_ like that, huh." His eyebrows bounced twice and he leaned back in the tub, obviously very impressed with himself.

Jayde brought her knees up as she turned sideways in the tub so her back was against the wall. Looking over at Joker, she leaned slightly toward him, waiting. "Well, tell me how you did it, you know you're going to." He gasped, bringing one hand up to indicate himself.

"Oh, well, its really not that interesting." He began, but then launched into a fairly detailed explanation of how he was apparently transported to and from the courthouse in an armored truck of sorts, complete with one, lone officer riding in the back with him.

"And it's just purely thanks to Officer Linman that he happened to be the one guy that had to ride in the back with me. _Sooo,_ for making sure he would get placed in that position, I decided not to kill him and merely knocked him out when we were leaving the courthouse after the trial." Joker shrugged, combing a bit of his hair with his fingers. "And I knew which route the truck took to get back to the prison so I counted the stops until I knew they were stopped at the light at 18th and Maine street. Then I jumped out the back, closed it _reeeeal _quiet and ran here through back yards and…one… _unexpected_ swimming pool." He finished his story with a stony expression as he looked away bitterly. Jayde tried not to laugh at first.

"Wait, you…fell in someone's pool?" she asked rather gently, but gasped when she noticed Joker's lip twitch.

"No." he answered, but Jayde was already laughing and Joker reached out to catch her hand as she swung to smack his knee.

"You did! So _that's _why you were soaking wet, hm? That sounds _very _heroic." She was commenting but could barely keep her lips together as Joker pulled her closer until she was up against him, leaned against his chest as he rested against the back of the tub.

Jayde glanced up at him as he closed his eyes to lean his head back against the wall behind them. She hadn't noticed it immediately, but every ounce of green dye had faded from his hair over the past three months and it was now as dirty blonde and normal colored as it had ever been. It had grown too, so that it reached his shoulders, his curls now relaxed into thick, messy waves. Everything about his face was the same, the two scars on either side of his mouth and the one fairly deep mark that went down his chin from his bottom lip. It was only then, as she looked up at his face that Jayde realized how much she had truly missed him. She considered telling him, but a second later decided that he probably already knew that.

For several minutes they sat there, Jayde leaned against Joker, Joker against the wall, with the shower still running, now warm and pleasant. The entire bathroom was full of steam before Joker opened his eyes with a slight jerk as though just waking up. Jayde glanced up at him just as he yawned so she sat up to turn off the water.

"You look exhausted." She commented as she stood up. "Wait here so I can go get a towel and some dry clothes for you." With that she disappeared, leaving Joker to roll his eyes as he too stood up. If Jayde was about to return with a tiny pair of shorts and a girly tanktop, he would be completely satisfied to sleep totally naked and he was just about to tell her this, when she returned, holding two articles of clothing he was immediately familiar with. She grinned sheepishly as he took the grey, cotton pajama pants and white thermal long-sleeved shirt from her.

"They were some of the last clean clothes you had in the bags from Montana." She paused, suddenly feeling slightly ridiculous for still having them. "I just…always figured I would see you again."

At the moment, Joker could not really explain to himself why he did it but after he had tossed the dry clothes onto the counter behind her, he reached out with both hands to grab her face and kiss her lips firmly. He felt Jayde sigh against him but just as she was about to relax and reply to his kiss, he pulled away to step out of the shower. He tried hard not to grin at how flustered and thrown-off Jayde was now.

"I'll just, uh-…I'm gonna-…" she stammered for a few seconds but never did say what she was 'gonna' do before she abruptly left the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Out in her bedroom, Jayde changed quickly into a dry set of clothes for herself, shivering slightly before she slid in between her sheets, sighing deeply. A huge, ridiculous smile had crept onto her features at some point and just laying there, Jayde couldn't believe how different she felt without a heavy weight of sadness on her shoulders.

It wasn't long before the bathroom door opened and the light clicked off, the rest of the steam emerging with Joker as he stepped into the room. Jayde closed her eyes and turned over to face the balcony as he lay down heavily, immediately yawning again. As he rolled onto his stomach, his arms slid up the bed until they crossed underneath Jayde's extra pillows and she watched as his back rose then fell in yet another yawn.

Through the darkness, Jayde could see that his eyes were closed and as tempting as it was to just lay there for a while and watch him, she could feel the sleepiness creeping up on her, tugging on her eyelids. She had a feeling he was not going anywhere so she allowed her eyes to close, feeling the most comfortable in her bed that she had felt in a long time.

She was just about asleep when beside her Joker cleared his throat sleepily, turning his head the other way. "I missed ya, kiddo." He grunted and at that, Jayde grinned herself to sleep.

It was not very long however, before Jayde was wide-awake again. Her mind almost seemed anxious to see if Joker was still there when she woke up and sure enough, he was in the exact same position he had been in when they fell asleep. Her bedroom was now filled with sunlight and for the first time in months, Jayde welcomed it, taking a deep breath as she stretched her arms out above her. Beside her, Joker was still on his stomach, his face half-buried into her fluffy pillow. His hair was all over the place and as she listened to his soft, growling snore, she grinned upon remembering how she had thought seeing him was a dream. It really did seem too good to be true but as her eyes took in everything about his appearance, she noticed one of his long-sleeves had been pushed up slightly in his sleep, revealing that tattoo he had around his wrist.

'_I guess it really is him.' _she thought happily.

Just as she was turning over onto her back, Jayde's stomach gave an enormous, rumbling growl as though she had not eaten in days, and indeed upon reflection, she kind of _hadn't _eaten in days. It felt amazing to have an appetite again. So figuring that whenever Joker woke up, he too would be starving, Jayde rose gently and slowly from the bed to go and find some clothes to put on.

Jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt seemed fine so after locating her heavy black winter coat, she slid into it and grabbed her purse to head for the front door. At first, she hesitated with her hand on the knob, wondering if leaving her apartment with an escaped convict asleep in her bed was such a good idea. A second later, she figured he would be able to handle himself if anyone were to show up and she stepped out into the hall, locking the dead-bolt behind her.

The grocery store across the street from the back of her apartment building was bustling with customers, practically alive on that brisk Friday morning. As she stepped out to cross the street, Jayde couldn't help but feel surprised at how much less she hated everyone.

A half hour later, Jayde emerged with two bags at her side; one carrying a couple apples and oranges, the other carrying a loaf of her favorite multi-grain bread. She looked both ways and after making it across the street, she felt stupid for the tiny butterflies that swooped into her stomach at the thought of getting back to her apartment. Part of her really hoped Joker was awake, but the other half of her hoped he was still asleep so she could get the opportunity to wake him up if it came to that.

Jayde had just thrown open the door to the stairwell of her building when someone came bursting through it, chattering loudly on a cell phone. It was Ms. McCarthy and the moment she saw Jayde, she poorly stifled a gasp and whispered audibly 'Oh my god, hang on. I'll call you back.' Jayde smiled none the less and held the door open as her neighbor and her dog stopped on the top outside step.

"Boy, am I glad to see _you, _honey!" she exclaimed, reaching out to pat Jayde on the shoulder. Jayde immediately knew what was coming but decided it would be more fun to play dumb for a minute. Her face remained pleasant but blank, encouraging Ms. McCarthy to go on. "Did you not hear? Oh no, probably not, I forgot- you youngsters don't really watch the news. Well…The Joker, he…" she paused, possibly for effect; either way, Jayde thought it was a nice touch. "-he escaped last night. He's…out here."

"Really?" Jayde asked, her eyebrows raising slightly. "Oh, then I should probably stay at home for a while, huh? Excuse me, I gotta get upstairs!" she cried over her shoulder as she took off up the first flight of stairs, leaving a startled but seemingly delighted Ms. McCarthy in the doorway.

Jayde giggled to herself up most of the flights of stairs until she reached her front door and unlocked it, still grinning. The apartment, upon entering was as silent and still as she had left it, her bedroom door open only a crack. She walked over to it, peering around the edge to where she saw Joker still asleep but having changed positions to face the windows now. Her eyes consulted the digital alarm clock on her nightstand; the time was only ten o'clock. So figuring that Joker still needed at least another hour of sleep, she moved the door back to it's original, slightly-cracked position and left him be.

In the living room, Jayde walked over to the sliding glass doors and threw back the sheen blue drapes, inviting all the crisp, morning sunlight into the apartment. At first, she hesitated with her hands on the edges of the drapes, considering closing them again. What if someone was watching her place? Someone like a detective or police officer. Her eyes scanned the surroundings outside of her living room balcony and when she found that there really was no place for someone to hide with binoculars, she left them open, again grinning to herself.

Upon entering the kitchen, the dishes from the night before caught Jayde's attention so she went to them first, stowing them back into their rightful places in her cabinets since she had not cooked anything. Now, with the kitchen clean, she felt ready to make herself some toast and grabbed an orange to start peeling it.

While the bread toasted in the oven, she thought vaguely of the newspaper she had passed on her doorstep when she had left a little bit ago and wondered if that was how Ms. McCarthy had found out about the Joker's escape. So as soon as her toast was adequately toasty, she stepped outside to retrieve it before sitting at the table with her breakfast.

Her orange gave a satisfying snap as she dug her thumb nail into the peel as her eyes scanned the front page although she did not need to look very hard. The headline read in huge letters 'Joker Escapes After Trial: Mayor Urges Gotham To be Vigilant'. Underneath this sat a large color picture of Joker sitting in a vast courtroom, smirking from the defense's table, next to a very smug, mob-ish looking man who she gathered to be his 'attorney' of sorts. She grinned when she noticed a cool calm about the way Joker was grinning, even with the immanent punishment he was facing.

She was about halfway down the page, reading the article when she heard the door to her bedroom swing open slowly. Looking up, she grinned when a very groggy Joker appeared in the way, rubbing one of his eyes while his other hand braced the door frame. He brought his hand from his eye to the front of his hair, pushing it away from his face as he blinked at the bright light in the living room with a yawn. A low groan escaped him as he trudged over, dropping into the chair next to Jayde at the round table.

"Morning," she greeted him quietly at first, still grinning when his eyes slid over to hers from staring dazedly at the white wood in front of him.

"Hello," he answered, his voice gravely and raspy with residual sleep. A second later he must have spotted the newspaper as he smirked, pointing at his picture. "Who's that handsome lookin' cat?"

Jayde laughed, sliding the paper toward him so he could read it while she finished her orange. She watched his facial expressions while he read, watching that scowl change into a satisfied smirk and by the time he looked up, he was fully grinning, completely proud of himself and the chaos he had once again managed to arrange.

"Looks like I made quite a uh-…stink. I bet old Jimmy Gordon was nice 'n pissed when he found out I had miraculously escaped-…" he paused, shrugging. "-again."

She nodded, rising from the table to take her plate into the kitchen and retrieve a cup of coffee while Joker raised his arms in a stretch. "Yeah, I guess it's a good thing no one saw you fall in that pool, though. That might not have been so good for your public image." She taunted, laughing when Joker sighed, standing up from the table.

"Ya know, it's not even as funny as you're imagining it was." he began, stepping into the kitchen to lean against the counter opposite her. When Jayde raised one eyebrow, he rolled his eyes, continuing. "I had just made it across someone's backyard and had just jumped a fence and…instead of landing on the ground on the other side, I just _happened _to land in someone's partially frozen, above-ground pool." He paused again, glancing upward. "It's really not that funny. I think I might've had a heart attack."

Jayde laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. "Actually, that's even _more _funny than I had imagined it. I'm glad you cleared that up for me." She snorted into her mug at the look on Joker's face. "Alright, calm down. I wont tell anyone. Look, there's apples and toast. Orange juice is in the fridge so help yourself. I'm going to take a shower."

Joker nodded, opening two cabinets before he found the glasses. "Good idea. And leave your phone on your bed." he instructed, glancing at Jayde as she paused in the doorway to her bedroom. He knew she was about to ask why so he continued, rolling his eyes. "I'm going to call Dotcom to have him come pick us up. I'm a little…_anxious _to get home."

So Jayde left him in the kitchen and went over to her purse, sitting on the armchair in the corner of her bedroom to retrieve her phone. After tossing it onto the bed, she meandered into the bathroom while stripping off her shirt as she went.

The bright orange jumpsuit Joker had been wearing the night before was hanging over the shower curtain rod and was now only slightly damp and stiff. She took it down and held it out to get a better look at it while she called his name.

"What?" came that snappy response she had missed so much and she grinned to herself before stepping back out into her bedroom to hold out the jumpsuit so he could see.

"What should I do with this? I don't really think I should throw it away, I mean what if someone finds-…" Joker cut her off as he walked up, holding an apple and a small sharp knife.

"No, no, don't throw it away, I want to keep it!" he said as if she ought to have known that. He went on at the confused expression on Jayde's face. "I've never had one of these before and I always wanted one. So we'll just put it in one of those bags to take with us." It seemed he had only just noticed Jayde did not have a shirt on and was standing there in her bra as his eyes traveled downward slowly before they came back up to meet hers. The tip of the knife he was holding came to rest on the thin middle strip of fabric of her bra just over her sternum. "Go shower. Now." With that, he left the room to finish his apple and Jayde ventured into the bathroom for that shower.

When she emerged in a towel, twenty minutes later, Jayde found Joker sitting on her bed against the pillows, with the newspaper, now in jeans but still wearing the white long-sleeved shirt he had slept in. A half-finished glass of orange juice sat on the far nightstand and Jayde couldn't help but notice just then how handsome he looked in her bed; she was definitely liking the longer, dirty blonde hair on him. He looked up only to let his eyes flicker over her figure in the slightly small white towel before he looked back to the newspaper.

"Dotcom should be here in about a half-hour in the basement, so you might want to, ya know…hurry up." He commented, turning the page.

As Jayde went to the closet, rolling her eyes with a grin, she found the doors open and the black duffle bags had been re-packed and organized. "I take it you found all your stuff in here." She said, grabbing a pair of underwear, clean black jeans and another warm long-sleeved shirt. Joker did not respond but she figured he had nodded so she went back into the bathroom to put on her clothes, not sure if she was quite ready to be completely naked in front of him after three months.

After changing into her clean clothes, Jayde stepped back out to find that Joker was now pulling those bags from her closet to place them on her bed. He glanced up when he heard the door open.

"So how about we try this again?" he asked. "Lets try and fit as much of your shit into these bags as we can so we don't have another…fiasco like we did when we tried this the first time." Jayde laughed, marching back into the bathroom to take out a makeup bag to cram as much of her female necessities into it as she could.

In no time at all, it seemed Joker and Jayde had managed to fit everything essential into the black bags although Jayde had made sure to sneak a few things in that Joker did not notice. Among them, her hair straightener, makeup and several of those little dresses that she only wore when she actually had a night-life back in Montana. She was anxious to have an opportunity to pull them out and surprise him with them.

By the time she had crammed all of this into their bags, her cell phone was ringing, indicating that Dotcom was calling. Joker picked up the phone as he swung two of the heavier bags over his shoulders.

"House of the Lord, this is Joker speaking."

A few moments later, he replied "Alright, sit tight. Here we come."

At the front door, Joker told Jayde to go ahead of him and look up and down the hall to see if anyone was out there. When she turned around and told him the coast was clear, he stepped out, leading the way down the hall toward the doors to the stairwell. The entire way down, Jayde prayed silently in her head that no one would decide to take the stairs while they were headed down, partially because whoever it was would recognize Joker, but partially also because Joker would probably end up killing whoever it was.

They met no people, however, and Jayde breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped out into the basement garage. Joker apparently knew exactly where Dotcom had said he was going to be and as they paused in the threshold of the doorway, she heard him counting parking spaces under his breath. When he stopped at fourteen, both of them spotted the black Escalade parked in between two trucks so they made their way over, bringing the bags down off of their arms as Dotcom stepped out of the car.

He and Jayde made eye contact and shared a private smile at each other as she and Joker approached. She knew he too was happy that Joker was no longer in captivity.

With all the bags now safely in the back of the SUV, Joker and Jayde both climbed into the back seats while Dotcom started the car. Beside her, Joker sighed, rubbing his hands together anxiously.

"Right, now get me home." he started, but then turned serious. "Dotcom, that house better be fucking spotless or you're dead." He added, glancing at Jayde as she grinned.

From the back seat, Jayde could see Dotcom roll his eyes. "I missed you too, boss."

**See? I wasn't going to leave you guys hangin'! The uh-…fun is about to start, ladies and germs, so hold on tight and stay tuned. Next update within a week. - QOM


	4. New Line of Work

*Rated M for Mature*

The ride out of the city limits normally only took about fifteen minutes from Jayde's apartment but on this trip in particular, it took a bit longer than usual. Joker had advised Dotcom to take as many back streets as possible and to get on the interstate at a more southern ramp. So once they had made it there, the roads became more smooth and all three of them relaxed a bit as their surroundings gradually changed from buildings to small fields. Jayde noticed as they passed under a few trees that the snow had begun to melt in some places. She turned her attention from the window when Joker broke the silence.

"How's Linman holding up?" he asked rather offhandedly and Dotcom glanced from the road to the rear view mirror.

"Nursing a nasty headache but otherwise fine." He answered, before he hesitated. "He said he knew it was coming and was still surprised at how quickly it all happened. Said one second he was sitting there in the back with you, the next second he woke up in the hospital." Joker laughed, bouncing his knee a few times.

"Well, I had to make it look _real._" He defended himself once he had finished laughing. "Ah, bless his soul." he then added a second later. "Such loyalty."

It grew quiet for a few minutes before Joker disrupted it again.

"Is George still alive?" he asked, glancing at Jayde with a smirk. Up in the front seat, Dotcom adjusted his glasses nervously on the bridge of his nose, glancing into the rear mirror again. Joker raised his eyebrows, waiting on an answer.

"Who?" he asked bravely and Jayde wasn't surprised to notice he was actually pretty nervous at the moment.

"My pet. My _spider, _George." Joker answered rather loudly as if speaking to a deaf person. "Is he still alive?"

Dotcom seemed to be having a moment, before he answered calmly. "You told me that no one is allowed in your office but you." He paused, his eyes glancing in the mirror again. "I've never been in there." Joker nodded, leaning back in the seat slightly as one of his ankles crossed over his knee.

"That is correct. Good answer." He said, his head turning slightly to watch a few cars fly by on the other side of the road. "George was dead before Jayde and I went to Montana, so…you passed the test. You can live."

Jayde shook her head but immediately started grinning when she noticed the large strip of model home mansions nearing on the right side of the road. The third one down, the pale yellow one looked exactly the same as it had the first night she had come there although the normally thick, green oak trees had shed most of their now brown leaves, giving a fairly wintery appearance.

"Ah, home, sweet home." she heard Joker say from beside her and as soon as they had come to a stop inside the garage, they both got out to grab the bags from the back of the truck. He sighed deeply as Dotcom unlocked the door to let them all inside.

The house was immaculate, Jayde noticed as they stepped inside but she looked over as Joker took a deep breath in through his nose before he exhaled heavily with a contented smirk. Behind him, Dotcom seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"So, I have work to do." Joker stated abruptly, clapping his hands together once. His eyes drifted from Jayde to the bags she was still carrying. "For now, put your stuff in the extra room upstairs and we'll…figure it out later." As he walked to the stairs, Jayde followed him to go and put the bags away but paused as he hesitated a few steps up and turned to look at Dotcom over the top of her head. He held up a finger to count things off. "I need a phone and for you to meet me in my office in five minutes. _'Kay_?"

Once Dotcom had nodded and hurried off to find that phone, Joker glanced at Jayde before he continued up the stairs. "And once you've put your stuff away, I would simply _love_ for you to go relax, my queen." He said as he turned to face her at the top of the stairs. Jayde tried not to let her slight disappointment show through her eyes as Joker grinned at her.

"But-,"

"Ah!" he cut her off, holding a finger up. "Go." With that, he pointed toward the end of the hallway toward that oh, so memorable bedroom, so Jayde went.

When she reached it, however, she stopped dead, her jaw hanging slightly as she took in the room. It did not even remotely resemble the stark white, plain bedroom it had been before and was now painted a rather nice, deep shade of pink-ish lilac purple. The canopy had been replaced with a white sheen drape hung simply over the top of the dark mahogany bed. The comforter and pillows were all the same, white, fluffy goose feather, mixed here and there with a few smaller purple ones. All of this Jayde was admiring, dumbfounded when she noticed Dotcom at the top of the stairs down the hallway, holding a cell phone, charger and notebook. When he made eye contact with Jayde, she grinned, laughing quietly when Dotcom clapped his hands together silently with a little bounce.

"I love it!" she whispered, pointing into the room.

"Me too!" he squealed back quietly.

Just then, the door to Joker's office swung open and he stepped out, glancing from Dotcom to Jayde and back again. He stepped back, holding his arm out toward the inside of his office, slowly.

"Dotcom, nice of you to _join_ me," he snarled, smirking down the hallway at Jayde after Dotcom had stepped inside and he followed him, shutting the door behind them. "Now…here's the problem-"Jayde vaguely heard him say before his voice grew too muffled and she was too excited about this room to care.

Everything was so different, that it almost felt like being in a different house altogether, Jayde noticed as she set the bags down on the bed. Even the little objects that one normally finds in someone's bedroom were different. Next to the bed on a new nightstand sat an old fashioned, silver alarm clock that read 1:15. Several small glass containers holding one or two flowers sat in different, random places around the room, on the new white wooden shelves and on the hot-wired window sill. This new décor was definitely very chic and modern and Jayde absolutely loved every single thing about it, especially when she turned and saw a rather large, flat screen television, very much like the one in Joker's bedroom, mounted to the wall across from the bed.

"No fucking way." She muttered to herself.

There was no word in the English language to describe how relieved Jayde felt as she pulled her clothes and belongings from the bags. It seemed all that misery, loneliness and boredom she had been feeling had disappeared completely within the span of five minutes and the last ten hours had been pretty damn enjoyable so far. And upon remembering that she and Joker had not been alone together when he wasn't exhausted yet, she figured the best was still to come.

She had just finished hanging up most of her clothes in the closet when Dotcom appeared in her doorway, a huge, excited grin on his face. Jayde immediately dropped the jeans she was folding to trot over and give him a hug.

"Thank you so much. It's _perfect_." She told him, walking back over to pick up the jeans she had dropped while he stepped in and over to the big TV.

"Actually, I had help. One of my _best_ friends in the city is an interior designer and had a bunch of random paint and pretty things." He explained, placing his glasses on the top of his head to turn on the television and fiddle with a few buttons. "So when I told him I had a completely plain room that I wanted to re-do, he offered to come out and help."

"Well, that was really great of you two. I love it." Jayde said from the bathroom as she put away her makeup and toiletries.

"Just don't tell Joker I had another fruitcake in his house."

After Dotcom had configured the cable on her new TV, both stepped out to go downstairs, Jayde glancing at the closed door to Joker's office as she reached the stairs. She was sure there were a lot of things he needed to 'work' on but still, this wasn't really how she would have imagined his first day back to play out. It was probably best to just be patient, she thought so she followed Dotcom downstairs and out onto the back porch.

The sun was still shining brightly and although it was still a bit cold, it was not nearly as bitter as it had been lately and Jayde admitted to herself that she was definitely more excited for spring than she normally would have been. As she sat across from Dotcom at the table, he handed her a cigarette which she accepted, then lit it when he passed her his lighter.

"I bet you were glad to see him last night." he said rather abruptly, grinning when Jayde rolled her eyes as she took a drag off the cigarette.

"Glad isn't even the right word for it." She answered. "I thought I was dreaming when I saw him."

"Yeah, I bet." He laughed. "Linman called me right before the court let out to tell me to go and put the spare key to your door under your door mat." After a pause, he went on, looking over to Jayde. "I wanted to knock on your door and tell you that he was coming but I had a feeling Joker would've wanted you to be surprised." Jayde nodded, ashing her cigarette on the ground.

"You were probably right." she replied, grinning. "I was _definitely _surprised."

For a good hour and a half, Jayde and Dotcom sat outside talking, laughing and somewhat catching up. There was not a whole lot Jayde had to tell him about the past three months for her, but it seemed like he, on the other hand, had stayed fairly busy during Joker's hiatus. He was in the middle of telling her about the (gay) club life he had acquired on the weekends when not busy with computer work and cleaning Joker's house when far-off behind her, Jayde heard the door to Joker's office open. She did not turn to look and instead waited for Dotcom to notice him walking up behind her on the other side of the glass.

"_Jayyyde?" _he growled as the glass door slid open. She turned, looking up at him. "Care to join me?"

Jayde smirked, cocking her head to the side. "Do I have a choice?"

"_Noooo…" _Joker answered, his inflexion mimicking the question she had just asked. "C'mon." he then commanded, turning to walk back inside when she stood up, rolling her eyes at Dotcom, although secretly, she was more than happy to go with him.

Upstairs, Joker's office was like everything else in the house and was exactly the way he had left it. Jayde glanced around as she stepped inside, having nearly forgotten about all the 'Ha's he had painted in red on the white walls. Over at the desk against the very far wall, Joker had taken a seat on a rolling stool just next to his chemistry table and indicated with his hand that Jayde should sit across from him in the large, rolling computer chair. It was still warm; Jayde figured he had been sitting here before he came to find her downstairs.

"So here's the deal," he began, leaning back against the table behind him. "If you are going to be staying here, we need to put certain…defenses up. You're going to have to maintain something of an appearance in Gotham." He paused here, hoping she was about to catch on and he wouldn't have to go into further explanation. When her face remained fairly blank, he sighed, continuing. "If you just _disappear_ the day after I do, people are going to start to wonder what's going on. _Un-for-tune-ately_, the police are now very aware of your existence, so…" he paused again, leaning forward slightly as Jayde had started to nod slowly.

"So-…I need to make sure they still see me every once in a while so they don't think I'm, you know-…helping you." Joker pointed at her as he nodded his head. "Does that mean I still have to work at Starbucks?" she then asked, her eyebrows raising.

"No, I actually need you to call right now and quit." He replied, rising from the swiveling stool to cross the room to the metal surgery table on the other side. He returned a moment later, holding her cell phone. "Just tell them you've received a much sexier job offer and you just _couldn't _resist."

From the contact list, Jayde dialed the number for her store in Gotham and waited while it rang, glancing at Joker as he nibbled on his bottom lip, watching her. After a few moments, the voice of her boss came over the other end.

"Starbucks on 56th and Cooper, this is Molly speaking."

After a few minutes of lying and explaining that she had received a new job offer and that it did not seem likely that she would be able to finish out her shifts, her boss seemed convinced enough and wished her good luck with her 'new job'. A huge sigh escaped Jayde as she hung up the phone and handed it back to Joker, grinning.

"That felt great." She breathed, but looked up as Joker stood, nodding, although she knew he was not listening and instead thinking. A second later, he handed Jayde back the phone.

"Write down any numbers out of here that you want to keep. We gotta ditch that thing." He said, but rolled his eyes and continued when Jayde looked up, confused. "I'm pretty sure that detective has your number and if she does-…"

"They can trace the location of the phone, right, got it."

After writing down her best friend Audrey's cell phone number, Jayde handed Joker back the phone only to watch as he turned it off, took out the battery and promptly threw both in the trash can.

"Dotcom has a new phone for you to use." He explained before he pulled her chair away from the computer so he could sit down and pull something up on the screen. "Now, about your apartment." He started again, slowly, his eyes narrowed on the computer screen as he searched for something. Jayde watched his face until he turned to her, leaning back on the stool. "You're still going to have to pay your rent every month, but that will be covered by your new 'job'." His fingers raised to make quotation marks while Jayde's eyebrow raised curiously again. "You are now employed by Vector marketing as an online consultant or…some shit like that." Joker's eyes rolled. "Basically, I asked Dotcom to make a fake company on the internet so you will be getting paid by them, generously, once every month…just to keep up appearances."

After he had explained all of this, Jayde began to smirk, rolling the chair toward him slowly. She cocked her head to the side when Joker's eyes narrowed on her. "All of this is awfully smart of you, Mister Joker." She purred, now close enough to rest her hands on his knees and lean forward. Joker hummed deep in his throat, growling slightly as he took her hands to pull her closer and up out of her seat.

"It is, isn't it?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Kinda hot when I do that, huh…" His hands had pulled her close enough by now that she was leaned over him slightly, their faces only a half-foot from each other. Jayde nodded, her gaze flickering from his brown eyes to his lips and back up again. He grinned a snarl up at her, his fingers moving from her wrist to reach up and trace the curve of her neck, causing Jayde to shiver slightly but continue to lean in.

As much as Joker was enjoying watching the frustration build behind her eyes as he hesitated to kiss her, her lips really were only a few inches away and they were _so _damn pretty and pink…So he gave in, closing the distance by applying the slightest bit of pressure to the back of her neck with two fingers. Another low hum escaped his chest when Jayde abandoned all pretense and lowered herself onto his lap, facing him as their kiss deepened.

Joker hands traveled downward along the curve of her sides until he found her hips, pulling her the littlest bit closer, just as Jayde arched her back slightly. Her fingers had come to play with the lining of his shirt up by his neck and Joker was just about to brush his tongue against her top lip when a knock on the office door across the room distracted him. With a groan, he pulled away, tilting his head back to close his eyes irritably. A second later, he shuddered unexpectedly when Jayde leaned forward to trace part of his neck with her soft tongue.

"W-what?" he called loudly, opening his eyes to glare at Jayde as she pulled back from his neck, grinning playfully at him.

"Um, I have Jayde's new phone for you…whenever you're ready." Dotcom's voice called from the other side of the room. Joker sighed, turning his head slightly to glance at his computer.

"Fine," he answered, and much to Jayde's disappointment, he grabbed her hips to stand her up before turning to the computer screen. "Go get your phone and finish putting your stuff away. I still have work to do."

For a few moments, Jayde stood there staring at him, somewhat disbelieving that she had just been so abruptly excused like that. But as Joker seemed to feel her watching him, he turned slowly, raising his eyes to look at her up and down a few times.

"Oh, don't worry, doll. We're gonna continue that later." He assured her.

So now feeling less irritated, Jayde left the room, smirking to herself.

Downstairs, Dotcom was in the kitchen, pulling a can of Dr. Pepper from the fridge when he noticed Jayde and smiled, offering her another can. She took it and followed him out into the living room where they sat down, flipping on the TV.

"Hope I wasn't um-…interrupting anything." Dotcom said a second later, winking at Jayde as she rolled her eyes, popping open her can of soda.

"No, but I kind of wish you did." She replied, looking over as he tossed a brand new Blackberry phone to her. "Oh, wow, thanks!"

"So…last night, you guys didn't…" he paused, looking over at her as she shrugged, taking a sip of her drink.

"No, he was dead on his feet. You should've seen him, he was exhausted." Across from her, Dotcom nodded slowly then laughed.

"So I should probably sleep in your room tonight then if I want to get any quiet sleep." He commented under his breath and both burst into giggles.

What seemed like a very long time passed by slowly and Jayde had by then, given in and was now laying on her side along the white couch in the living room. An hour ago, Dotcom had disappeared into his room to work on starting up that fake business so now Jayde was quite alone, still watching TV. Her boredom had just about reached it's limit and she was about to go bother Joker when she heard a door open and close upstairs.

"Dotcom!" Joker shouted over his shoulder as he plopped down onto the couch, down by Jayde's feet a minute later. She glanced down at him but back to the television when she felt him reach over and glide his hand onto the deep curve of her side while he waited for a response. Jayde ignored him at first but groaned quietly when he suddenly tightened his grip, rocking her hip a bit.

Seconds later, Dotcom entered the living room and Joker took his hand away to let his arm rest on the back of the couch.

"You called me?" he asked, sitting down in the arm chair across from the couch as Joker crossed one ankle over his other knee.

"Yes, I did. Everything set with Jayde's new job?" Joker was now carefully tracing the tip of his finger along Jayde's curvy side, down and up again, while he continued to look at Dotcom, awaiting his answer. He noticed Dotcom quickly glance at what he was doing, obviously feeling slightly uncomfortable with the affection he was showing Jayde. The corner of his top lip turned up in a snide grin; nothing made him happier than to make someone feel weird. A second later, Dotcom snapped out it, clearly having trained himself to ignore Joker's attempts to bother him.

"Yeah, everything's set. I set up a separate IP address and routing system for the-.." Dotcom began but stopped short when Joker waved his hand at him, closing his eyes.

"Ahhh, stop, I don't care how you did it, just make sure she gets paid every month. Yes?" He asked, raising his eyebrows, then nodded when Dotcom agreed. "Right, so, anything else?" he then asked again, glancing over at Jayde as she absentmindedly watched TV. "You got anything to add over there, sweet cheeks?" She turned her head and was about to shrug at Joker when Dotcom spoke up.

"There's not a whole lot to eat in the kitchen. But I figured tonight I would just go get pizza or something, then tomorrow she and I can draw straws to see who has to go to the store." He explained, grinning at Jayde as she fake-glared at him. Down by her legs, Joker was nodding slowly with his thinking face on.

"Hm…" he hummed, standing up from the couch to walk over to the stairs. "How about…Russian roulette to see who goes to the store? I kinda like that one…" Dotcom rolled his eyes at Jayde as Joker continued up the stairs, now talking to himself. "…Or maybe…whoever drinks the most bleach doesn't-…" His voice trailed off as he disappeared into his bedroom and Dotcom went to get his phone to order dinner, leaving Jayde alone, once again.

It wasn't long, however, before Dotcom came back but only to say he was leaving to go to the city to pick it up and that he should probably be back in a half-hour. Ten minutes later, Joker was still upstairs, probably 'working' again, so Jayde decided it was time for a change of scenery and went upstairs into the place she now called _her _room.

The bed was just as comfortable as she remembered it being and as she sank into the fluffy pillows, her hand grabbed the remote to turn on that new tv. The screen had just emerged from black when her eyes moved to the door as the Joker appeared in the way, his hair wet and in clean clothes. At first, he was smirking but it faded quickly as he immediately noticed the décor change and he stepped inside, frowning at it as if it had done him a great personal wrong. Jayde sat up to sit indian style, grinning as he noticed the flat-screen tv and scoffed loudly.

"Looks like _someone _let the fag out of the bag." He commented, stepping over to sit on the bed across from Jayde. She scoffed, swatting at his arm.

"Shut up, it was really nice of him!" she paused, shrugging sheepishly. "I wouldn't have wanted to stay in here if it still looked the way it did before."

Joker must have understood as he nodded a second later, leaning forward to rest his chin in the palm of his hand with his elbow on his knee. He watched her eyes for a moment, then asked, "Are you glad you're here?"

Jayde tried not to grin. There were times, rare times, but still moments in Joker's personality where he would say or ask something completely honest and up-front and Jayde always appreciated them for how genuine they were. She nodded slowly, finally allowing herself a mild smile.

"Yes, I am." She answered, glancing down momentarily as she hesitated. "Are you?" she then asked, raising her gaze to meet his.

At first, she had a feeling that Joker would shake his head 'no', just to be an asshole but a moment or two later, he nodded, blinking placidly at her. Jayde smiled in return, leaning to the side on her elbow when he decided to lay down on his back along her bed and take a deep breath. She watched him, studying him for a few moments while he had his eyes closed.

"Tre will probably be here day after tomorrow." he said after a few minutes, turning his head to look over at Jayde as she raised her eyebrows.

"Really?"

Joker nodded, linking his fingers together over his chest. "I need a new black guy since Grizz got shot and I figured, who better than my _best _black guy?" he shrugged, his eyes sliding shut again. "So I called him earlier and he should be leaving Chicago in the morning." Jayde nodded, but gave in a second later to lay down next to Joker on her stomach, with her head rested on her arms and good thing, too. Her elbow did a perfect job of hiding her guilty grin when Joker turned onto his side facing her and let his hand slide onto the small of her back.

It took a lot of will-power for Jayde to keep herself from letting out a soft moan when he curled his fingers around her opposite hip to pull her closer and onto her side facing away from him with her back to his chest. The fingers that had been resting on the curve of her hip tightened their hold as Joker pulled her back until her ass was right up against the dip of his lap. At this, Jayde actually did groan and let her head come to rest on the bed, exposing a good portion of her neck to him.

Joker immediately noticed this and moved in, bypassing a kiss and instead used his teeth to bite down firmly on the nape. He smirked to himself when he had to hold Jayde's hips back as she rocked them forward instinctually, whimpering quietly when he used his tongue to trace the marks he had just made. It was not long from then, before Joker found himself sliding his hand up along her ribcage, moving her shirt along with it and at some point, he had moved from her neck to her shoulder. He was just about to leave another kiss here when downstairs, the sound of the garage door opening tore his attention from Jayde. He groaned loudly, taking his hand from Jayde to slap his palm to his forehead as he rolled onto his back, definitely more irritated than the last time they had been interrupted. In front of him, Jayde was laughing, sitting up to pat his stomach.

"C'mon," she called, rising from the bed. "You know you're starving."

Surprisingly, for inner Gotham city pizza, dinner was actually pretty good and as Jayde carried dishes into the kitchen, she laughed to herself when she heard Joker burp, followed shortly by a disgusted 'ugh' from Dotcom. It seemed somewhere over the past three months, someone had decided it was just easier to use the dishwasher than to wash all of them by hand and once she noticed this, she stowed the dishes from that night with the others already in there.

Back at the table, it seemed Dotcom had already retired to the back porch for a cigarette. Joker was still seated at the table, doing something apparently important on his new phone. So she left him alone and instead stepped out back to sit across from Dotcom at the round table. Once she had sat down, he flicked his pack of cigarettes across to her followed shortly by the lighter.

"So, I think we should both go to the store tomorrow." He started randomly. Jayde looked over so he continued. "I figure since Joker wants you to still be seen in Gotham, I can drive you to your apartment building and you can walk across the street to that little grocery store. Then I'll pick you up in the basement, after."

It seemed to make sense so Jayde agreed and decided she would ask Joker about it in the morning, just to make sure. After taking a drag of her cigarette, she looked over at Dotcom then glanced in the window to make sure Joker was still preoccupied.

"Did he tell you his best friend is coming to stay here?" she asked, her voice quiet, just in case Joker hadn't wanted her to tell Dotcom. He shook his head, leaning closer. Jayde went on. "Yeah, I met him when we stopped in Chicago on our way back from Montana. Apparently, they've been pretty much brothers since they were like thirteen." She paused, glancing inside again. "He's pretty much the black version of…" her thumb jerked toward Joker sitting at the table on the other side of the glass. "He's kinda hot." She then admitted, laughing when Dotcom's eyebrows raised.

Before long, both of their cigarettes were finished so they stood to go back inside, Jayde stepping inside after Dotcom to plop down on the other side of the table from Joker. Her forearms came to rest on the table where she linked her hands together. Her lips slowly formed a grin when Joker very slowly looked up from the phone to make eye contact with her. He looked back down a moment later, sniffing once in an uninterested sort of way.

"You ladies had a nice chat?" he asked, finishing with a strong emphasis on the 't'.

"Yes, we did, actually." Jayde answered, but pushed back from the table abruptly to walk over and start up the stairs. Behind her, she was positive Joker had turned to watch her go and did not even have to look to be sure. Once she had reached the top, she gave a small toss of her head, gracefully throwing her hair over her shoulder so it all fell down her back as she knew Joker liked it a little when she did that. She smirked to herself once she had made it to her bedroom door; it was only a matter of time now.

In the large, marble bathroom, Jayde sighed in contentment at having all of her nice smelling, feminine scents and body washes there and while she waited for the water in the huge bath tub to warm, she went through them, sniffing as she went. The first few were a little too fruity for her current mood but after finding her favorite coconut and vanilla body wash, she locked the bathroom door from the inside, deciding that Joker could wait a little longer to come find her.

Joker glanced over his shoulder at the second story as he stood up from the table downstairs, sliding the phone into his back pocket. He had heard the water start running upstairs, then stop ten minutes later so figuring where Jayde had disappeared to, he went to lock the doors, turning off lights as he went. At the top of the stairs, Joker paused, straining his ear toward the direction of Jayde's room but all was silent. Dotcom had gone into his room for the night so Joker went to the door of his office and stepped inside to turn off the computer, figuring he would just have to wait a little bit longer to…surprise Jayde when she emerged from her room.

A fluffy white towel hung on the rack closest to the tub so after retrieving it, Jayde wrapped it around herself, drying off the best she could while she was still in the warm, steamy bathroom. Part of her hoped when she opened the door, Joker would be waiting in her room for her, but on second thought, she was somewhat looking forward to having to go find him.

She sighed in relief when she stepped out to find her room empty. The television was still on from earlier so after she had turned it off, she found a pair of boy-cut underwear and thin, baggy pajama pants before locating a green long-sleeved shirt with a wide cut neck that exposed her collarbones and upper shoulders. Luckily, only the very tips of her thick, black curls had gotten wet so she left her hair down and hung up the towel before walking to her door.

The entire house was completely dark and Jayde frowned slightly when she looked down the hall toward Joker's bedroom to find it too was pitch black. Feeling slightly discouraged, Jayde stepped out but immediately felt her heart beat quicken a bit. She had never been a fan of complete darkness and as she took a few steps down the hall, she started to get the feeling that she was being watched…but she was kind of starting to like it.

Her next steps into the darkness were more bold and she had just about reached the top of the stairs near Joker's office door when two hands grabbed her tightly and pulled her back. Upon instinct, Jayde had opened her mouth to scream but gasped instead when she realized Joker had pulled her back up against his chest and she leaned against him as his back met the wall behind them. Her head tilted back against his shoulder when his fingers wrapped around her neck, gently but firmly and she practically purred, arching her back against him.

Behind her, she heard Joker take a deep breath in, exhaling as he spoke against her neck. "Mmm…You smell good enough to fuck, sweet thing." He growled, letting his hands come to rest on her hips. His first two fingers slid into the lining of her pajama pants and underwear before he dug his thumbs into the small of her back deeply. Jayde hummed softly, casually digging her ass into the crotch of his jeans. She grinned when she heard Joker's breath hitch in his chest.

Taking advantage of his momentary weakness, Jayde tilted her head to the side, placing her hands over Joker's at her hips to guide them up along her hourglass shape until they reached her ribs.

"So, are you just gonna feel me up all day or are you going to actually fuck me at some point…" she cooed, grinning when Joker laughed sarcastically from behind her. A second later, she gasped when he suddenly pushed her away roughly, down the hallway toward his bedroom before he stood up from leaned against the wall to advance toward her. He lowered his head, shaking it slowly.

"You better get in that room, girl." He growled in a voice Jayde had never heard him use before and just the sound of it caused all the hairs on her arms to raise. She was walking backwards towards his room, grinning slyly at him as he stalked after her, his eyes narrowed and extra glossy as he watched her go.

Her back came in contact with the wood of Joker's closed door and she fumbled quickly behind her for the knob as he closed in on her. It swung open and the moment it had closed behind him, Joker reached out, grabbing a fistful of Jayde's hair, tilting her head back. Jayde let out a moan, bringing her hands up to grip his shoulders as he bit down hard on the curve of her neck, using his lips a second later to soothe the dents in her skin. He let go of her and Jayde stepped out of her pajama pants before she sat daintily on the edge of his bed with her legs crossed.

Apparently, Joker was having none of this and stepped over after her, uncrossing her legs forcefully to place himself between them and his hand met her throat again to push her back until she was laying under him.

With his hands now on either side of her shoulders, Joker paused to breathe down her neck, giving Jayde an opportunity to tease him. Her hands found the bottom of his shirt where she slid them up his stomach under the material until she reached his chest. In one movement, Joker had shrugged out of it and dropped it to the side, but Jayde was not done with her turn yet. Bringing her elbows up, she leaned on them while she went immediately for Joker's weak spot with her lips and tongue. She smirked to herself when Joker grunted, his hips bucking slightly. A moment later, her nails dug into his shoulders as he used her hair to pull her away from his neck, opening his glassy, dilated eyes to glare at her.

Jayde's shirt was next to go and once Joker had thrown it to the other side of the room, she shivered, bringing her hands up instinctively. He caught her wrists suddenly, pinning them tightly to the bed on either side of her shoulders while he leaned down, using his tongue to trace the delicate curve of her breast. She sighed, arching her back against his chest when he flicked his tongue lightly across her nipple.

It seemed at this point, however that Joker had made it to the end of his patience and was done teasing both of them when he let go of her wrists to reach down and unbuckle his belt with one hand. Something in the way he watched her while she watched him undo his jeans was inexplicably sexy to Jayde at the moment and she could feel her underwear sticking to her as he kicked them off before turning his attention to hers.

Her pajama pants had been easy enough to ditch and neither were really sure where they had landed as Jayde had kicked them blindly across his room. Rising to sit on his knees between her thighs, Joker looked down and grinned as one finger reached out to stroke her gently through her thin, lacey underwear.

"Hmm…" he growled, tugging the now soaked crotch of her panties to the side. "I think I may have missed this little thing." Jayde moaned softly when he pushed his middle finger inside her. He laughed quietly deep in his chest when he felt her clench tightly around it. "Seems like she missed me too."

By now, Jayde was absolutely beside herself, practically trembling in anticipation and although Joker's games were fun at first, she was surprised to find herself running out of patience now. A louder groan escaped her as she arched her back to grind her hips against him, her nails digging so hard into his back she could swear she was breaking skin.

"Joker, _please_ just fuck me." she practically begged, knowing that was exactly what he had been wanting to hear but he only laughed again, reaching down to wrap his hand around that positively throbbing dick.

"Are you _suuure?"_ he asked, grinning evilly at her as she cried out in exasperation.

"Joker!"

Jayde's back arched when he thrust into her, and her nails raked the back of his shoulders as he swung his hips into a rough rhythm against hers. It stung at first and she couldn't help but whimper "Ow" softly to him; it had been three months, after all. Joker did not slow down but simply laughed breathlessly, shaking his head.

"Uh-uh...You wanted it so you're havin' it. No stopping now," he growled, reaching down to press his thumb to her clit and distract her from the pain. It must have worked as Jayde moaned, tilting her head back and he felt her clench around him several times, urging him on.

A few moments passed before Joker sat up to his knees, still rocking his hips, now watching Jayde until he felt that familiar tightening sensation across his lower abdomen. It was much too soon for that so he shook his head roughly a few times, trying to shake it off but of course, Jayde did exactly the opposite of what he needed and had just reached out to let her hands glide down his stomach to his hips. He groaned, reaching down to take her hands and pin them on either side of her head. However, this did not help his situation either so he paused, pulling out of her to try and reign it in for a few moments.

His forearms met the mattress on either side of Jayde's ribcage and he fit his hands under her shoulders, pressing the curve of his nose to the underside of her chin. He was breathing hard, but not breathless and a heavy sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes against her skin.

"What's wrong?" Jayde asked, her own breathing slightly ragged. Joker laughed, shaking his head.

"Nothing, you're gonna make me cum." He admitted, reaching down to his dick. Jayde looked up at him as he sat up, pushing his hair away from his face. She shrugged, letting her fingers trace the cut lines leading from his hips, downward.

"I'm not trying to." She answered and Joker laughed again, reaching down to turn her over onto her knees.

"I _know…_" he growled, forcing a loud moan from Jayde when he entered her again, this time with his hands forcing a deep dip in her back as he slid them along the curve to frame her hips. Jayde stretched out, falling back to meet each one of his thrusts, pulling a deep growling groan from Joker's chest as his pace quickened.

It wasn't long before Jayde was whimpering his name, her hands fisted tightly around two bunches of his comforter and Joker groaned deeply, thrusting hard a few more times until he came with a slight shudder. His tight grip on her hips loosened and Jayde lay down on her stomach, tucking her arms underneath her as Joker collapsed on the bed next to her on his back, shaking his head as if trying to clear it of fuzziness.

"_Shit, _Jayde…" he groaned, closing his eyes as his hand reached up to push his hair away from his face before he went on. "I mean, _damn, _girl."

Jayde rose up onto her elbows, grinning at him in the dark room as he looked over at her, still gradually slowing his breathing. She shrugged innocently. "What? It seems like you enjoyed that."

"Oh, I _did…"_ Joker answered, his voice gravely and clowny. He was about to go on and tell her off for memorizing pretty much all the little things that absolutely drove him crazy with lust and for using all of them against him to make him finish. On second thought, however, it _had _been three months, and she might not even realize what she had been doing so he stayed quiet but turned over onto his side.

Across from him, Jayde was seemingly half-asleep already so he rose from the bed to retrieve his boxers and her pajama pants, tossing them onto her face when he returned. She jumped but then put them on, crawling her way up toward the top of Joker's bed when he lay down next to her, handing her the forgotten green shirt he had thrown across the room.

As she nestled down into his incredibly comfortable bed, she sighed, turning over to face him. He had already buried his face into his pillows on his side facing her and Jayde could not help but grin when he opened one eye to peer at her through the darkness. For several long moments, they looked at each other before Jayde broke the silence.

"I'm really glad you're back, Joker."

His eye closed again and he did not answer, but his large, rough hand reached out, wrapping around her smaller one stretched out on the bed between them. That was all the response Jayde needed. She knew he agreed and like that, they both drifted off.

ATTN Ladies and Gentlemen, I need to explain something…I am of the mind that this site is for creativity. My version of Joker, while pretty accurate to the version played by Ledger, is also slightly different. I believe everyone has a right to vary certain aspects of the character according to what they imagine. My version of the Joker is exactly that; _my _version. I appreciate all of you that have decided to keep up with this sequel and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please take the time to leave me a review to let me know what you liked or didn't like. (they help keep me motivated)

Next update within a week…if you're good and leave a review… = ]


	5. Quicksand

Joker exhaled impatiently through his nose as he glanced at his watch for the hundredth time since he had woken up at seven to come downstairs. It was now nearing eleven and as he and Dotcom finished making a list for things from the store, he drummed his fingers on the table, turning his head to glance up at the second story. His eyes rolled when he noticed it empty but turned back when Dotcom stood up.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone to wake her up yet." he said over his shoulder as he walked to the kitchen. Joker sat up with one eyebrow cocked, looking as though something had just dawned on him.

"Ya know what? Me too." And with that, he stood abruptly from the table to march over to the stairs and go up to his room. At the door, he paused for just a second before pushing it open to reveal a completely dark bedroom, save for the light now spilling in around him. Across the room, he could see her sleeping figure tucked under all of his blankets so he shut the door behind him to creep over to the bed.

As gently as he could, he starting crawling up the bed toward her on fours until his knees and hands came to stop on either side of her. Surprisingly, she was still asleep even with the movement of his weight and for several moments, Joker stayed still and quiet, wondering which way was best to approach this. On one hand, he could be cute and make her day by leaning down to kiss her exposed shoulder then bury his face against her neck but then again, he could just be himself and scare the living daylights out of her. A nasty grin spread across his face as he imagined the next few moments.

Taking a deep breath in, he shouted "Jayde! Wake up!" at the top of his lungs and several things happened all at the same time.

Jayde gasped, sitting up quickly, but she banged into Joker hard, causing her to then scream, all while her knees came up to hit him right between the legs. Joker groaned loudly, rolling to the side to curl up in a ball while Jayde sat up, slapping him hard on the shoulder.

"What the fuck is your problem?" she shouted, raking her fingers into her curls to push them away from her face. "You gave me fucking heart attack!"

Beside her, Joker was still moaning, one hand between his legs, the other gripping his other elbow. "_MY _ problem? You just kneed me in the nuts so hard…" he whined, rolling onto his back with his eyes still squeezed shut. He swallowed hard but grunted again when Jayde landed another hard smack on the middle of his chest.

"You deserved it." She snapped, standing up from the bed. "What did you want anyways? What time is it?"

By now, Joker had uncurled and was now sitting up, still looking rather uncomfortable as he scooted to the edge of the bed. He winced when he stood up to tower over her while she picked up her discarded panties from the night before.

"It's almost eleven and you need to go to the city." He answered, following her to the door to step out into the sun light filled hallway. Jayde nodded, but turned to him as he shut the door behind them.

"Fine, but only if you kiss me first." She said, tilting her head to look up at him as he leaned against the door with his arms folded over his chest. He looked away with a roll of his eyes before looking back down at her.

"You just crushed my dick, Jayde…" he answered, arching one eyebrow while Jayde frowned.

"And you just went out of your way to scare the shit outta me…" she paused, before taking a step toward him. "Call it even?"

Joker cocked his head to the side, squinting at her while he evaluated her request before he nodded and leaned down to meet her halfway as she rose onto her toes. Their lips met somewhere in the middle and he couldn't help but let his hand reach up to slide under her hair at the back of her neck. Jayde sighed against him but he pulled away a moment later, licking his lips.

"Alright, now go get dressed. You and Dotcom are leaving soon." He said, smacking her lightly on the ass as she turned to walk down to her room. She jumped, turning her head to glare at him over her shoulder as she went.

Downstairs, Dotcom had just retrieved the keys to the Escalade when Joker walked over, cracking his knuckles. He looked up, wiggling his nose to scoot his glasses back up. His boss seemed to be thinking about something as he glared at him, squinting.

"I feel like I should be going with you two." He blurted a few moments later, drumming his fingers on the counter. "If something happens-…" he went on, but Dotcom cut across him, shaking his head.

"Nothing is going to happen. It's all planned out to where no one will even see her with me." he explained, but hesitated before he went on, shaking his head. "Things are too hot in Gotham right now for you to risk it. You should just stay here. I'm taking my phone so I'll just call if anything goes down."

By then, Jayde was coming down the stairs, now dressed in jeans and a sweater and was looking at Joker and Dotcom by the garage door with a slight frown as she approached.

"Everything cool?" she asked, looking first to Joker, then to Dotcom as he nodded, smirking at Joker behind his back.

"Everything is fine." He answered, opening the door with keys in hand. "Joker was just worried about you going out without him…Actually kind of sweet, if you ask me." Jayde grinned as Dotcom disappeared into the garage leaving Joker to glare after him angrily before he turned to Jayde. He rolled his eyes.

"Just play it safe, 'right, tuts?" he asked, handing her a piece of paper. She took it from him before rising onto her very tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

"Don't worry."

With that, she left him standing there to go join Dotcom in the Escalade and Joker watched her go until the door had closed behind her. Even then, he stood there, listening until the sound of the engine died off and he felt extremely ashamed of himself for feeling a little like a dog that got left out of a fun car ride. He realized after just two days stuck this house, he was already starting to feel anxious and wound up although the previous night with Jayde had certainly helped ease a bit of it. Still, he felt a little like running in circles.

Tre had called him that morning from Chicago saying that he had packed overnight and that he was on his way so after doing a little math, Joker had estimated that, without stopping, he would be there at around two that coming morning. So Joker figured it would be a good idea to go check out Grizz's old room and get it empty before their new 'roommate' arrived.

The ride to Gotham city did not seem to take as long as it usually did but she figured it was because she and Dotcom were actually having interesting conversations. They had just been laughing at a story he had told her about a few of his friends from the city when they pulled off the interstate onto an exit ramp.

"So I bet Joker has told you some pretty interesting stuff," he said, glancing over to motion with his hand. "C'mon, give me somethin'." Jayde laughed, shrugging.

"He hasn't really told me anything too-…" she paused, looking over at Dotcom with a serious face. "Ok, if I tell you, you have to swear you wont say anything, even as a joke. Ok? He would be so pissed." When Dotcom nodded eagerly, she took a deep breath. "He told me his name…like, his real one…"

"_And?" _he urged her on when she hesitated. "Oh, please say it's like 'Bob' or 'Hank' or something…" Jayde laughed, shaking her head.

"It's Kieron…Apparently, it means 'little dark one'." She finally said, watching Dotcom until he shrugged, looking back over at her.

"Well, that's a pretty hot name." He put honestly, laughing when Jayde tossed her hands.

"I know! That's what I told him, but he hates it." She shook her head, glancing out the window as they pulled into the basement of her apartment building. "He tries to act like he doesn't know what a stud muffin he is…" her voice trailed off when Dotcom laughed, turning off the car.

"Oh, but he does. He definitely knows, how else do you think he lured all those women he killed back to the house? Some he had to drug, others…he didn't have to." Dotcom was saying in a rather off-handed way as Jayde unbuckled her seat belt, suddenly feeling a weight drop into her stomach; she had almost forgotten about that.

"Right," she agreed absentmindedly, glancing down at the grocery list in her hand before stepping out of the car. "It shouldn't take me too long…" She started to walk away, her mind still spinning a little when Dotcom called after her.

"Wait, wait! Jayde! Come back for a second."

She doubled back, sitting back down in the front seat, holding out her hand when he reached for her wrist. He was holding a small silver watch and fastened it around her wrist before reaching into his coat pocket again to pull out a tiny ear piece.

"Holy shit, Joker would've killed me if I had forgotten to use this and something happ-…Oh my god…" he was muttering to himself while he tested the earpiece on his own ear before handing it to Jayde. "Alright, this is a tiny microphone and receiver." He then started to explain, pointing at the watch while Jayde placed the tiny flesh colored ear piece in her ear. "I can hear what you're saying and you can hear me, that way if you run into any one, police meaning, I'll know what's going on."

So Jayde, feeling slightly more apprehensive than before, set out again, glancing both ways as she crossed the garage to the stairwell entrance, hoping beyond all belief that her neighbor would not be in there. When she first opened the door to go up, she paused, listening for the sound of cheap heels clicking from anywhere above her, but it was completely silent.

Once she had made it to the first floor landing, she made a right and stepped out through the door and out onto the sidewalk to head across the street to the large grocery store. Keeping her head up, Jayde walked confidently, hoping that she looked as if she was going about her business as usual. She did not think there was anyone watching her but she figured one could never be too careful and that it might look suspicious if she kept glancing around.

After getting a cart inside the store, Jayde glanced down at the list in her hand to find the first item and she went ahead, walking toward the refrigerators, surprised to find herself still a bit distracted by what Dotcom had said in the car. She shook her head slightly, willing herself to forget about it. A second later, Dotcom's unexpected voice in her ear caused her to jump.

"Everything alright?" he asked when Jayde had just leaned over to pick something up from a cooler. She took a deep breath as she placed the gallon of milk in the shopping cart.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up killing me eventually, Dotcom." She murmured quietly, continuing to walk along the aisles casually. There was a pause on the other end of the ear piece.

His voice came through again, a moment later. "I don't think so, Jayde." He answered honestly and Jayde noted then how much she liked that about him; he never tried to pretend things weren't the way they were. When she had expected him to say 'No way! That wont happen,' or something like that, he had come right out with it and she now grinned to herself at how up-front he was and how refreshing it felt to have someone be completely honest with her.

"Why don't you think so?" she then asked, glancing to see if anyone was watching her talk to herself. Dotcom sighed from the other end and she could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"Because I've seen the way he looks at you," He answered. "he's fascinated by you and…you're still around even after three months. You _waited_ for him for three months and that meant something to him. Joker is big on loyalty, Jayde. I really don't think you should worry." Dotcom paused and Jayde reached out for a loaf of bread, already half-way down the list. "And I think that even if Joker decided he was tired of you, he would give you a chance to leave before he…ya know…killed you. And that's saying something."

Jayde wasn't really sure what to say to this, so the ear piece fell quiet for a bit while she finished making her way down the list, finally reaching the last item- laundry detergent. She grabbed the largest box they had and made her way toward the registers, looking down momentarily to hide her lips moving.

"I'm checking out now," she murmured, looking back up to move forward into the shortest line, behind an old man.

From the other end of the ear piece, Jayde heard Dotcom start the truck. "Alright, just pay with your card. I put money on there this morning." Jayde smirked to herself again at how clever both he and Joker were.

Once she had paid and taken all of the bags out of the cart, she hurried back outside to walk over to the crosswalk and back across the street to the stairwell door. She jumped as it swung open, held that way by Dotcom and he reached out as she stepped inside, taking half of the bags from her. Jayde groaned, rubbing her shoulder as they went back down the stairs to the waiting SUV.

With all the bags loaded into the back, Jayde got in next to Dotcom who immediately pulled out his phone while she plucked the ear piece from her ear. As he backed out of the parking space slowly, he dialed a number before pressing it to his ear.

"I promised him I would call when we were on our way." He explained in a mutter, rolling his eyes while it rang. Jayde could hear it and she listened hard but grinned to herself when Dotcom seemingly knew she would want to hear what he said and put the phone on speaker, pulling it away from his ear.

"Is she alive?" came a raspy, gravely voice through the phone after only two rings, causing that grin on Jayde's face to expand into a smile. Dotcom rolled his eyes generously again.

"Yes, she's alive. We're headed back."

"Good." '_Click'_

Twenty minutes later, the Escalade bounced into the driveway only to stop momentarily while the garage door slid up. When Jayde had expected to find Joker standing there, waiting, she couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when the door opened to reveal a completely empty garage. Figuring that he was just inside, she climbed out to get half of the bags from the back before walking over to let them inside.

But once again, upon entering, she and Dotcom found the first floor empty and she was just about to call his name when a dull thud from the other side of the house caught her attention. After setting the bags down on the counter, she walked toward the source of the sound to find that it had seemingly come from the only bedroom on the first floor, just behind the underside of the stairs. She was almost positive she could remember this being Grizz's old room but she had never been in there and wouldn't have dreamt of entering when the huge, black thug of Joker's had been alive. But since Joker was no where to be seen and the only sound had come from inside there, Jayde figured who she would find if she pushed the slightly cracked door all the way open.

Sure enough, just inside, Joker had just pushed the bed across the room and was now standing up to crack his back a few times. He hadn't heard the door open so Jayde took advantage of the moment to pause in the doorway and take in the sight of him in a white tank-top and jeans that sat extra low on his hips. A second later, he turned and saw her standing there, a smirk immediately jumping to twitch his scars.

"Oh," he said, placing his hands on his hips to take a deep breath. "_Hiiii."_ Jayde grinned, crossing the room to him as he pulled the hair tie from his short ponytail to shake his waves out. "Did you girls have-" he began tauntingly, but Jayde cut him off by rising onto her tip toes to pull his neck down and kiss him abruptly on the lips.

Joker grunted once against her lips but let himself reply to her kiss, leaning down slightly as she tilted toward him, her hands coming to rest on his forearms. As she stood there, Jayde realized that even if he did come to grow tired of her, they still had that moment and the one after it to enjoy each other's company. They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

Several hours later, all the groceries had been put away, Tre's new room was empty and set up properly, and Jayde and Joker found themselves upstairs in her room, watching tv from the bed. While Jayde leaned comfortably against the pillows, Joker had decided to lay on his side with his head rested on her lap and was now drifting in and out as she played with his hair. At first she had combed her fingers through it slowly but had now retired to wrapping a tendril around her finger then letting it unwind itself, gently…methodically…the Joker was practically purring.

He had _just _about completely slipped off to sleep when Jayde stopped, breaking the silence.

"When is Tre going to get here?" she asked out of nowhere and Joker took a deep, sleepy breath as he curled his fingers into fists, cracking his knuckles.

"Probably not until two or so." He exhaled heavily, opening his eyes to turn onto his back and look up at her. "Why?" he then asked, arching an eyebrow. Jayde shrugged, shifting her gaze from the tv to meet his eyes.

"I'm just excited to get to know him. I didn't really get much of a chance to when we were there." She explained, reaching back down to push her fingers into his hair while he nodded, turning back over onto his side to face the tv. Jayde looked down at some of his soft wavy hair between her fingers, momentarily envious of his natural, honey colored highlights.

"Are you going to keep your hair like this?" she asked randomly, frowning when he barked "_Hell _ no!" and reached up to pull a piece down over his face as if gauging how long it was.

"Why not? I think it looks good." She admitted, watching him as he blew the piece of blonde hair back out of his face.

"'_Cause_ I look like some punk, faggot, surfer kid that just came in from the beach. _Not _ a good look." He suddenly sat up, holding up a finger. "That reminds me," he leaned to the side to pull his phone from his back pocket. "I should have Tre stop by Maggie's on his way in and pick up the green dye she owes me…"

At this, Jayde arched an eyebrow, watching him as he dialed a number; she decided it was probably better not to ask who 'Maggie' was. After a few rings, someone answered the phone on the other end and Jayde listened as Joker gave specific instructions to Tre before he hung up and tucked the phone back into his pocket.

"I got big things in the works, Jayde…" he explained a moment later as he lay back down with his head on her lap. "And I know they say 'blondes have more fun' but I still can't be running around trying to wreak havoc on Gotham looking like-," he paused to yawn. "-Malibu Barbie…"

Jayde laughed, reaching down to comb her nails along the side of his head, through his hair, forcing him to give in to a slight shiver. Her eyes drifted back to the tv, watching mindlessly as her hands gradually slowed until they stopped completely, and it eventually dawned on Jayde that Joker had not moved nor made a sound in what now felt like almost an hour. Sure enough, when she looked down, she found that he was indeed completely out on her lap, growling quietly as he slept, his breathing deep and even. Jayde grinned to herself when she noticed the characteristic scowl on his face and almost felt the slightest bit glad that Joker trusted her enough to let himself be vulnerable around her…sometimes.

Moving as slowly and gently as she could, Jayde slid down further into the pillows when she felt the sleepies begin to creep up on her, tugging at her eyelids. Luckily, Joker barely moved so she closed her eyes to drift off along with him.

It may well have been midnight by the time Jayde stirred, groaning softly before she opened her eyes. Something had woken her and once her head cleared a bit, she realized it had been the sensation of something gliding along her stomach. At first, without looking, she had no idea what it was, but she could still feel a warmth just next to her and upon opening her eyes and looking down, she sighed when she saw that the Joker was awake and was now tracing his finger along her stomach. He was just barely touching her, creating patterns as he watched the tip of his finger glide along her skin, over her hipbones and around her belly button.

"Mmmm…" Jayde groaned, closing her eyes again when Joker replaced his finger with his lips, leaving a gentle kiss on the side of her stomach near her left hipbone. She reached out to stretch her arms but gasped a little when his teeth suddenly nipped at a section of her skin, just hard enough to leave a small red mark. When he continued on, he kissed a few more places before using his teeth again, this time up toward her ribs and Jayde jumped, squealing slightly as he tickled her.

"Ok, stop…" she murmured, reaching down to pinch him but he apparently was not listening and instead wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her still as he caught her skin between his teeth. "Joker, stop." She said again, louder, trying ineffectively not to giggle as he nibbled on her with his front teeth. Again, he did not stop and by now Jayde was laughing, wriggling in his grip to get away from him while he just held on tighter. His other arm had been sliding underneath her until he could link them around her waist and Jayde let out a loud squeal of laughter when he dug his thumb into her side.

"STOP!" she finally screamed, tilting her head back as Joker hummed, pulling her down until she was laying under him as he leaned on one elbow next to her. He opened his eyes, meeting hers and a moment or two passed here where he looked from one of her blue orbs to the other and back a few times, Jayde wishing desperately that she knew what was going on in that mind of his.

She jumped when Dotcom's voice called out from downstairs, breaking the staring contest she and Joker had fallen into but instead of groaning irritably, Jayde was surprised when he leaned down, connecting their lips.

"GUYS!"

Dotcom's voice shouted from downstairs again, but Joker did not pull away and instead brought his other hand up to the opposite side of her face, turning it more toward his to deepen their kiss. Jayde responded deeply, letting her fingers rest on his shoulders but a second later, Joker had pulled away only slightly so that his lips just hovered over hers. She sighed, reaching up to push a bit of his hair away from his face.

"Are you gonna be mad if I call you Kieron?" she asked in a soft whisper, opening her eyes to look up at him as he did the same to look down at her. He blinked, but then slowly shook his head from left to right.

"No."

"Uh, _GUYS?"_Dotcom's voice now sounded as though he were standing right outside the door and when he said 'oh' a moment later, Jayde figured he must have turned the corner to find them laying in her bed, Joker practically cradling Jayde as they talked quietly to each other.

Her eyes had started to water in the outer corners from the way she was laying and Joker noticed, using his thumb to wipe some of the moisture away, still glancing from eye to eye, studying her. He kissed her one more time, hoping to memorize the way it felt, just in case he ever got arrested again.

Jayde barely even knew it had ended before she found Joker had released her and was now standing from the bed, smoothing out his grey t-shirt along his chest. She sat up, watching dejectedly as he strode from the room without another word, cracking his back, out onto the balcony where he leaned on the railing.

"Hey!" he shouted harshly down at Dotcom. "What were you squealin' about, boy?"

Jayde heard him reply "Dinner!" from far off so she stood up to follow Joker downstairs to the table where Dotcom had already started eating. As she approached, he let his eyes rise over the top of the book he was reading on fake IP addresses to make eye contact with Jayde. He raised one eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes, knowing they would be talking later.

Dinner was delicious and Jayde thanked Dotcom for cooking by taking all the dishes in to put them in the washer and scrub the pots and pants. By then, it was nearing ten o'clock and Jayde strained her ears as she heard Joker's phone ring from the kitchen. He answered but his voice trailed off as he went upstairs, into his office to shut the door behind him. Jayde sighed when she heard it snap shut and shook her head at how infuriating he was sometimes…well, most of the time.

She could remember from before- Joker had an irritating habit of being incredibly sweet and gentle, even romantic with her one minute, only to act like she did not even exist, the next. She looked up as Dotcom walked over, hopping up onto the counter next to her. He leaned in after he had glanced over his shoulder to make sure Joker was still in his office.

"So…_that _ was interesting to walk-in on…" he murmured, taking off his glasses to clean them with his shirt. "What was that all about?" Jayde rolled her eyes, scrubbing the inside of a steel pan a little harder than she normally would have done.

"Nothing. Joker was just in one of his cute, flirty moods." She answered somewhat bitterly, glancing up as Dotcom nodded. He must have been able to tell it was bothering her as he slid off the counter, taking her wrist to pull her outside onto the back porch with him for their now nightly cigarette.

"I wouldn't let it bother you, Jayde." He said quietly a few moments after they had both lit a smoke. "It's only his second day back, he probably just needs time to get used to everyone again." Jayde nodded and it fell quiet on the porch.

After a few minutes, both Jayde and Dotcom jumped slightly when the tall, glass door behind them slid open and Joker stepped out to sit in between them at the round table and take a cigarette from the pack that was sitting there. He lit it and inhaled deeply, leaning back in the chair as a thin trail of smoke issued from between his lips. Jayde watched him at first, but looked away when he caught her staring. He smirked to himself, fully pleased with the way he was confusing her with his severely mixed signals.

As Joker sat there, he started to frown slowly, glancing from the side profile of Jayde to the side profile of Dotcom and back again. It was deafeningly silent on the porch, both of them staring off in different directions and it was starting to make him feel a little anxious and itchy. A moment later, however, Dotcom put his cigarette out and stood up, muttering something about 'shower…and bed' as he stepped inside. Joker watched him go, still frowning, but looked back to Jayde when she exhaled smoke, still staring off aimlessly as if in a trance. He smacked his hand down on the table close to her, causing her to jump and blink several times as she looked over.

"Why so serious, _Jayyyde?" _he asked, leaning forward with his hands linked together on the table in front of him. Jayde shrugged, turning to face him in the chair. She leaned forward as well, tilting her head to the side.

"I wont lie, Joker. You confuse me." she said, smirking when she noticed Joker blink, obviously a little thrown-off by her candidness. He copied her, tilting his head to the same side and throwing a smirk back at her.

"Well, they don't call me the Joker for nothin', sweet tits." He answered, raising his eyebrows to grin when Jayde's face fell and she rolled her eyes. She was about to go on but once again, Joker's phone rang and he stood up, answering it. Jayde sighed and was about to really start feeling dejected if he just walked away and went upstairs again. But only a half- second later, she looked up when Joker held his hand out to her, waiting for her to place hers within it. He was looking down at her expectantly as she glanced from his hand back to his eyes skeptically a few times but she eventually took it, allowing him to stand her up from the chair.

She followed him inside, glancing down when she felt him shift his hand so their fingers were linked together and like that, he pulled her around the living room and kitchen, turning off lights with his free hand as they went. His head was tilted to the side, still on the phone with Tre as he held it between his shoulder and the side of his head. Jayde continued to follow him after having tried to let go of his hand only for Joker to tighten his grip and by the time he finally hung up, they had already made it to the stairs.

The entire house was dark now, save for the faint blue light shining inside from the moon, but just when Jayde expected Joker to go all the way up to walk down the hallway, he stopped on the top step and turned to sit. At first, Jayde hesitated but he looked up expectantly at her, his stand still tightly holding hers, so she sat down next to him. She looked over when Joker let go of her hand to cross his arms over his knees with a sigh as he looked out over the dark, bottom floor.

"So, talk to me, kiddo." He started randomly after a few silent moments and he looked over at Jayde, raising his eyebrows. "Tell me somethin' interesting."

"Uh…" Jayde stammered at first, the randomness of his request catching her quite off-guard. "Um…I'm allergic to bees…and honey." She finally said, turning a little to lean back against the railing of the stairs as Joker nodded.

"That's interesting." He answered, unfolding his arms to place his hands behind him and lean on them.

"Are you allergic to anything?" she asked somewhat carefully at first, arching an eyebrow when he laughed quietly, scratching at a itch over his shoulder.

"I'm lactose- intolerant, if that's an allergy." He said after a brief pause, laughing again when Jayde gasped.

"Are you really?" she asked in partial disbelief. The Joker was just full of strange, random surprises. He nodded but Jayde went on, shaking her head. "But I've seen you eat ice cream before and you were fine."

Joker nodded again, raising his hand to make the space between his thumb and forefinger very small. "I only had a _tiiiny _ bit." He explained, turning to sit like Jayde was, with his back against the railing behind him, facing her. "A spoonful of ice cream wont kill me, but say, an entire glass of just straight milk?" he groaned, rolling his eyes. "I would probably die."

Jayde laughed, shaking her head and it grew quiet again for almost a full two minutes before she looked up, linking her hands together. She wasn't sure if her next question would kick things from somewhat pleasant, sitting there talking to him, to awkward in one swoop, but it had been bothering her for quite some time so she gambled on it.

"I've been meaning to ask you…" she started, but paused and immediately wished she hadn't as Joker looked over, now paying full-attention to her. An awkward laugh escaped her as she looked down at her hands. "Do you think maybe we should…ya know…use protection from now on? Like…I dunno…" she was about to keep rambling on when Joker started laughing, shaking his head once he caught on.

"There's no need for that, sweetie." He answered, patting his knee a few times. "It's already been taken care of. See, I didn't really think I was the type that ought to, uh…_reproduce_…So, I went and got fixed. Problem solved." He explained, holding out his hands. Jayde stared at him.

"You had a vasectomy?" she asked, absolutely intrigued by this point and she sat up, leaning on her knees. Joker nodded, shrugging.

"Something like that."

Jayde slowly shook her head, leaning back again. "You are somethin' else, Joker. Just a wealth of strangeness." She said, grinning when he inclined his head.

"I take that as a compliment."

For several hours, Joker and Jayde sat on that top step, looking out over the house, talking and laughing about anything and everything, about stories from their pasts, about their most embarrassing moments and as Joker glanced at his phone, yawning, his eyes grew wide. The time now read '1: 37 am' and he looked over at Jayde as she caught his previous yawn and was now stifling it behind her hand as her eyes closed tight.

"You can go to bed if you want." He said quietly, watching her as she scooted closer and closer to him along the carpeted stair. "Tre probably wont be here for another hour or two."

By now, she was right up next to him and her arm linked with his as her head tilted to the side to rest on his shoulder. He heard her sigh sleepily and he mentally kicked himself for having to try not to grin at how fucking _nauseatingly _cute she was sometimes. At first, Joker expected her to say something or even indicate that she had heard him, but she stayed quiet for several minutes, just sitting there rested against him. He ignored it, quietly lost on his own musings until he felt her head slip slightly on his shoulder. Laughing, he reached over, holding her upright as she grinned at herself for falling asleep.

"Jayde, go to bed." Joker now instructed and she nodded groggily, leaning over to kiss him on the shoulder before moving to rise from the stair. He looked over but only a second too late as she had already stood up and was now walking away down the hallway toward her room. As hard as he tried not to feel disappointed that she was not walking in the other direction toward his room, he knew that the time had come to define the terms of this…_'friendship' _they had started and that they had better start drawing some lines pretty soon…before things got out of hand.

A/N- IF YOU READ THIS, LEAVE A REVIEW…please. = ]

(QOM)


	6. intoXicated

The sound of birds chirping greeted Jayde when she came around the next morning, rolling over slowly in her cloud of a feather-top bed with a sleepy sigh. A slight grin crept over her face when she thought back to the previous night, laughing with Joker on the stairs. It had been so nice to finally get to know him a little bit further and as she lay there reminiscing, it dawned on her that it had truly been their first time acting like somewhat normal friends. In fact, she had a rather nice time talking to him.

From her place sprawled out in the middle of her bed, Jayde listened for any noises coming from the rest of the house and sat up when it sounded completely silent. At first, she thought it may well have been really early and everyone was still asleep, but upon consulting her fancy new clock, she found it was already past eleven and nearing noon.

So after she had gotten up, brushed her teeth, put on jeans and a sweatshirt, she ventured out into the hallway to go and see where everyone had gone. The moment she stepped out of her room, she noticed Dotcom sitting outside on the back porch, leaned over the table as he worked on some computer-looking gadget. After watching for a few moments, she shrugged to herself; maybe it wasn't as uninteresting as it looked. So she walked toward the stairs to go down and join him when she heard voices from a little bit down the hall, seemingly from Joker's office.

With a jolt, Jayde remembered that Tre had come in at some point in the night so without further ado, she headed toward the door. It was open half-way when she reached it but instead of just barging right on in, she hesitated, knocking twice on the door frame before poking her head around the edge.

"Ah, yes, Jayde." Joker said as though he had been expecting her for a meeting. He straightened up from his slightly bent position, cracking his back a few times and she walked toward them. "Nice of you to uh…join us."

At first, she had intended on giving Tre a friendly smile when she saw him, but now she was watching, completely distracted, as Joker tattooed the inside of Tre's forearm. He was seated on his rolling stool, somewhat hunched as he focused on what he was doing, pausing every now and then to wipe away excess ink and blood. Jayde was so caught up noticing all of this that she jumped slightly when Joker spoke again.

"_Jayde, _say hello to Terrell…" Joker instructed her like a parent would to their child but did not look up to catch the glare she threw at him.

"Hi, Tre." She said a moment later, smiling at him. Tre nodded his head toward her.

"Ay, girl." He answered, then looked over at what Joker was doing, his eyebrows furrowed. "Damn, you done yet?" he asked a second later, flexing his fingers a few times to stretch them when Joker paused to dip the needle of his tattoo gun in some fresh, black ink.

"Noooo…" Joker answered in the form of a question and Tre rolled his eyes, leaning back against the chair. From where Jayde was standing, Joker's back was in the way so she moved to the side, tilting her head a bit.

"What is he doing?" she asked Tre, leaning down slightly to get a better look. Tre sighed, shifting his gaze from his forearm, up to her.

"He's takin' his dear, sweet time tracing a tat I got a few years ago…" he explained and from beside him, Joker gave a short, sarcastic laugh.

"Yes, Jayde. See, Tre is so black that black ink doesn't really show up that well on him." Joker went on to further explain without looking up from the tattoo. "And I'm fresh out of… _'glow in the dark',_ so we're just going over what he's already got."

Tre looked at Joker with a very serious look on his face as Jayde laughed, turning to leave with a shake of her head. It seemed like they had things perfectly under control so she decided to leave them at it and go find Dotcom.

And a few minutes later, she succeeded, stepping out onto the porch just as he tossed the instruction manual down next to the gadget he was working on at the table. He had just lit a cigarette and offered one to Jayde, which she accepted. She inhaled deeply, but then quickly looked over to Dotcom, her eyebrows raised.

"What do you think of Tre?" she asked quietly, laughing when Dotcom raised his eyebrows too, glancing inside before he answered.

"Hot." He said, joining Jayde in her laugh. "I didn't think he was going to be so…tall and…dark."

"And handsome?" she finished for him and he nodded enthusiastically.

At first, Jayde wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to bring it up, but Dotcom was rapidly becoming a really good friend to her and she had been feeling the need to talk about it with someone all morning. She leaned forward, taking a deep breath before she looked over at him.

"So…" she started. "Last night-…"

Dotcom cut her off, holding up his hand with a roll of his eyes. "You and Joker sat up all night talking and making a lot of noise. I know." He said, taking a drag from his cigarette as Jayde grinned. "I almost came out there to tell you guys to shut the fuck up, but I figured if you were getting along..." his voice trailed off and Jayde nodded an understanding, still smirking to herself.

They had both almost finished their smokes when the glass door slid open behind Jayde, only to close again once Joker and Tre had stepped out. The chair to the left of Jayde and the right of Dotcom scraped the ground when Tre moved to sit down, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his own pocket to light one and lean back in the chair. There was a white bandage over his tattoo now.

Joker had remained standing and was stretching his arms over his head as far as they would go, cracking his back in a few places with a groan. When he lowered them again, he walked over, looking down at the computer-type thing Dotcom had been working on.

"How's the GPS coming?" he asked of his nerd, sitting down when Dotcom launched into a detailed explanation that Jayde could tell Joker was completely ignoring as he turned on the device, peering at it interestedly.

When Dotcom had seemingly finished, Joker set it back down. "So can we put it in today?" he asked, but held up his hand to clarify. "Yes or no answer." Dotcom said 'yes' so Joker slapped his hands together once, anxiously. "Great."

It grew quiet for a few minutes before Joker suddenly slammed his hands down on the table to push himself up from his chair. Before walking to the door, he took the GPS unit from the table and tucked it under his arm.

"Right, so when you sad-sacks are done, you can find me in the garage." He said and with that, he stepped inside leaving Jayde, Tre and Dotcom to glance at each other.

It was not long from then, however, that all cigarettes had gone out and Jayde and Dotcom went inside, followed closely by Tre, who closed and locked the sliding glass door behind them as they went. As Jayde and Dotcom walked over the stairs, whirring air drill noises could be heard from the other side of the garage and neither were surprised when Tre walked over to go out and find 'Ki'. Dotcom groaned once they had reached the top of the stairs and once Tre was out of earshot.

"I'm so glad this guy knows something about cars." He said, glancing at Jayde as they walked toward her room. "Now I don't have to do that stuff with him anymore." Jayde laughed but Dotcom went on once they made it to her room and sat down on the bed. "I mean, I really think he will be good to have here in our little…'family'. All Grizz did was sit around and eat, unless we were out doing something and Tre seems like he'll be just like Joker…high-energy 'n everything."

Jayde nodded her agreement as she leaned back against her pillows, folding her arms over her stomach. "You've really got the hots for Tre, huh?" Both laughed loudly, but only a second or two after they had quieted down, they jumped simultaneously as Jayde's nearly forgotten phone began ringing loudly on the far nightstand. Jayde and Dotcom locked eyes for a moment before she crawled over to see who it was.

"Audrey" read the caller ID and Jayde was about to answer it when Dotcom stopped her.

"Don't answer it!" he exclaimed so she stopped mid-reach, turning to look at him strangely.

"It's just my friend. I just-…" she explained, sitting back down as the phone continued to ring but he cut her off, shaking his head.

"Just let her leave a message." He immediately said, then went on when Jayde kept staring at him with one eye brow arched. "That way if she asks you questions or wants to know something, you have more time to think of an answer. Better to find out what she wants first so you have your responses ready."

Jayde kept staring but after a few moments, nodded her head in understanding. She then grinned, swinging out to slap his knee. "You're so smart." She said, then laughed when Dotcom adjusted his glasses pompously with a very gay flick of his wrist.

Downstairs, on the other side of the garage door, Joker had just wheeled himself out from under Tre's truck, dropping the screw driver he had just been using to mount the GPS bug to the under-carriage. Once he stood up, he took a deep breath to exhale heavily as he wiped his greasy hands on a towel he had brought outside. Tre had just dropped the hood and now both were standing there, staring at the truck the way guys typically do when trying to imagine something else they could 'fix'.

"One of us will just have to drive it later to test if it works." Joker said, even though no one had asked him anything and Tre nodded, folding his arms over his chest. As long as they had been best mates at this point, their brains pretty much operated on the same wave-length. Joker had just leaned back against the tall work-bench at the back of the garage when Tre lit a cigarette.

"So…she lives here full-time...?" he asked a few moments later, looking over when Joker nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on a random spot on the floor.

There was another long pause before Tre asked "And how's that workin' out for ya?", laughing when Joker's eyes widened and he slid both hands into the front of his hair slowly.

"I think she'll be the death of me, Tre." He said a few seconds later, finally lifting his eyes to look at his best friend. "Help keep me sane, please." Tre laughed, pulling his pack of cigarettes from his pocket to toss them at Kieron.

"She's annoying you that bad already?" he asked, catching the pack when Joker threw it back to him after lighting one and inhaling. He shook his head, exhaling a thin stream of smoke.

"No, she doesn't really annoy me…" he paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "I just-…I can't keep my _hands _off her!" he finally cried, tossing his own hands exasperatedly. Tre nodded, ashing his cigarette a bit.

"Well, she's hot, Ki." He answered and Joker pointed at him in agreement.

"She's hot and she's starting to _realize_ it." He corrected, again staring off as his mind took him back to the way she had started this new, annoying habit of grinning at him playfully as though she knew exactly what it did to him. "I think I've created a monster!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. Across from him, Tre rolled his eyes, reaching out to smack the back of Joker's head as he walked past.

"Man, c'mon. It is not even that serious. Let's go get faded then we'll test that GPS shit…"

From upstairs, Jayde heard the garage door swing open with its usual slight squeak and she looked to Dotcom, her eyebrows raised. They could both hear Joker and Tre laughing about something and Dotcom sat up, glancing over at Jayde's phone.

"Did your friend leave a message?" he asked and Jayde gasped, reaching over to grab it from the charger. The light in the top corner was flashing, indicating that Audrey had indeed left a voicemail so she pressed the screen and held it to her ear.

Dotcom watched Jayde with deep interest, as if hoping to hear what the message said through her eyes but after only a few moments, she hung up again, biting on her bottom lip somewhat anxiously.

"What'd she say?" he asked eagerly.

"Apparently, she's coming to Gotham in a week or two and wants to see me and go out a few times while she's here." She explained, watching Dotcom's face when he nodded, glancing down at the phone.

"You should go talk to Joker about it before you call her back." He answered after a few minutes and Jayde nodded, placing the phone back on her nightstand to rise from the bed. They could still hear Joker and Tre's deep voices carrying from downstairs so Dotcom followed her out into the hallway so they could look down over the railing.

From below them, Tre had just emerged from the master bedroom under the stairs, holding something that looked very much like a rolled blunt, just as Joker looked up and spotted them.

"Oh, _hello_." He growled, smirking, more to Jayde than Dotcom.

"Hi." She answered, grinning at him.

Tre looked up as well, motioning with his arm for them to come downstairs and join. "C'mon, guys. Gotta break this bitch in." he said in that deep, black-guy voice and Jayde stepped past Dotcom to go down, bouncing her eyebrows at him as he rolled his eyes.

"No, you go ahead." He said once Jayde realized he wasn't following her down the stairs but instead, walking toward his room, removing his glasses as he went. "I'm gonna take a nap." He added, yawning just as he turned into his room and shut the door.

So Jayde went on without him, stepping out onto the back porch to sit in between them where they were already seated at the round table. Tre was already clicking his lighter to ignite the blunt, inhaling until thick smoke clouded his face. She was so caught up with watching him that she failed to notice that Joker was, in turn, watching her with a smirk on his face. When she finally looked over, she paused and cocked her head to the side slightly, knowing there was something she wanted to ask him. But the way his brown eyes glinted a bit in the sunlight was incredibly distracting. The moment he looked away to accept the blunt from Tre, she remembered.

"Oh!" she started suddenly, laughing when Joker jumped slightly and Tre made a face. "My friend Audrey called me like a half hour ago and…I guess she's stopping in Gotham on her way to New York to go back to school and…she wants me to go out with her a few times while she's here."

Joker took in all of this, quietly listening while he hit the blunt a few times. And only once she had finished speaking did he answer.

"That's fine." He said deeply, coughing once as he passed it to Jayde. "You'll just have to drive the Cadillac to the city and _not do anything stupid._" He finished, adding extreme emphasis on that last bit. Both Jayde and Joker looked over when Tre spoke up.

"Who you're talkin' about?" he asked, looking from one to the other and Jayde was about to launch into a detailed description of her best friend when Joker cut over her.

"Blonde, 22, college kid, cute, kinda obnoxious." He said nonchalantly without looking up, now examining his fingernails while Tre nodded.

"Got it."

Jayde passed it back to Tre and had just leaned over to punch Joker in the arm when he reached out, grabbing her wrist. She gave him a serious glare as he raised his eyebrows, grinning evilly at her, but Tre seemed to notice them being playful and stupid so he drew Joker's attention by asking, "So what's on for tonight?"

Joker looked over after he had released Jayde's wrist and he sighed, linking his hands together over his stomach. "I thought I _told _ you…See, I just broke out of _jail _a couple days ago so…kinda gotta keep it low key for a while. At least until the GPD calls off its wild goose-chase."

Tre rolled his eyes, passing the much smaller blunt back to Joker. "Yeah, yeah… Alright, fine. Let's just get fucked up here." He suggested, pausing when Joker raised one eyebrow. "It's my first official night here, bro-… Might as well."

It grew quiet for several long moments while Joker thought, both Jayde and Tre watching him in anticipation. He was squinting at something over Tre's shoulder and only once a few things clicked into place did he shrug, leaning back in the chair.

"Alright, but no one's leaving the house tonight…" he finally said, glancing from Jayde to Tre where raised his eyebrows, pointing a finger at him. "And no_ girls_ over, ya heard?"

Once Tre had agreed not to invite anyone over, all three of them stood to go back inside, glancing at each other as they went as if trying to assess how high they were at that point. While Joker walked into the kitchen for water, Jayde sat down at the table, then gasped suddenly remembering that she was allowed to call Audrey back now. Tre had disappeared into his bedroom, mumbling something about 'liquor' so she dialed Audrey's number from memory, pressing the phone to her ear as Joker came back around the corner.

It rang several times and while it did, Joker had taken a seat across the table from her and was now watching her with interest. She was about hold up a very rude hand gesture jokingly, when a loud, excited voice came through the other end. Jayde jumped, holding the phone away from her ear as Joker cocked an eyebrow.

"OH MY GOD, JAYDE!" her very ditsy best friend squealed into the phone. "DID YOU GET MY MESSAGE?"

Jayde laughed when she noticed Joker bury his eyes in his hands and pull at the front of his hair; Audrey was a little too high-strung for him.

"Yeah, I did! When are you coming again?" Jayde asked, even though she had just heard the date on her voicemail not twenty minutes ago…then again, she was kinda high…

"March the first." Audrey answered. "Jay, we gotta go out when I'm there! I _know _ Gotham has some hot spots…"

"Yeah, I guess so! I haven't really been out that much-…"

"AH!" Audrey started, cutting over Jayde purposely. "We should go get our hair done then go out the first night I'm there!" she practically screamed and Jayde winced, holding the phone away again with a laugh.

"Alright, that sounds great! Just call me when you're on your way here and we'll meet!" Jayde hurried to say all of this before Audrey could cut in. "But I gotta go so I'll call you back later on! Bye, love!"

After Audrey had said bye as well, Jayde hung up and set the phone down, smirking over at Joker, who now had his head down on the table in front of him.

"She's not really that loud in person…" she commented when he sat up, meeting her eyes. He nodded vigorously.

"Jayde, yes, she is." He answered, closing his eyes. "I've met her remember? You _both _get loud when she's around…"

Just then, Tre returned from his room, holding a set of keys and a brown, leather wallet and he looked from Joker to Jayde and back again before speaking.

"I'm finna ride up to the liquor store." He said, but when Joker continued to stare up at him blankly as if to say 'so?', Tre hit him on the shoulder. "C'mon, you gotta ride wit' me. I'm lost out here."

With an agitated groan, Joker stood up, swaying slightly as he followed him to the garage. He tossed a hand as he paused to take a sip of the ice water he had abandoned minutes before. "Damn, man, ya get me high then tell me I gotta go run errands 'n shit…" he was saying as he stepped outside and Jayde grinned when she could hear him bitching loudly on the other side of the door all the way until the rumbling truck started and pulled away.

So after she had sat there for a while, trying to decide whether or not she was disappointed that Joker had left without saying goodbye, she finally got up, deciding that she was not and went upstairs to see if Dotcom was awake. Even though she had finished that whole blunt with the guys, she did not feel all that high but she figured Joker and Tre were probably going to see to that when they returned. Now, she stood outside Dotcom's closed door, listening for any sounds coming from inside the room. But a distant 'ding' sounded from his phone so she gambled on it and knocked twice.

"Come in!" came a voice, so Jayde opened the door slowly, peering around the edge. "Hey." Dotcom said from the bed, holding up his phone as he read the text message he had just received while she stepped inside, glancing around at his bedroom. She had never been in there before, but was not surprised to find it was rather chic, like her room. A large painting on the far wall had just caught her attention when he spoke again, setting the phone down. "Where'd they go?"

Jayde sat on the other side of his bed, leaning back against his pillows. "To the liquor store." She answered, picking up Dotcom's glasses from the bed to try them on, only to squint when they immediately hurt her eyes. "I guess Tre and Joker wanna get smashed tonight…in honor of Tre's first night as a part of the team." Dotcom snorted, rolling his eyes. Jayde went on, reaching out to pat his arm. "At least I'll have you here to help me keep them under control." She winked but her grin fell a second later when Dotcom cringed.

"Actually…I'm going to Gotham tonight to go out with a few friends." He put hesitantly, sitting up to reach out and take Jayde's hand when she groaned loudly. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, putting on his glasses. "My friend Mike just called to tell me about a new spot that just opened up on 56th and he wants to go to dinner, then check it out…free drinks, you know…"

At this, he hopped up from the bed to move to his closet, which surprisingly was absolutely stuffed to over flowing with clothes and accessories. "Oh!" he squealed, bouncing a few times as he stood in front of it and he turned to Jayde, excitedly. "You can help me pick out what to wear! I gotta look fierce, girl…"

Somewhere around a half-hour later, Jayde had helped Dotcom pick out a nice pair of dark jeans and a slightly tight, black button-down shirt, the sleeves of which he planned to fold up to his elbows and a studded belt. She had a huge feeling he would look fabulous and as gay as he could ever dream to. Halfway through trying on clothes, Jayde had heard the garage door open and close downstairs so after Dotcom had disappeared into the bathroom for a shower, she ventured to the door to go downstairs and find the boys.

Once out onto the landing, Jayde glanced down to find that Joker and Tre were seated at the kitchen table, a small pile of stinky, strong smelling weed between them as they rolled blunts. She laughed as she approached them, grinning at Joker when he looked up momentarily.

"You guys are gonna do it big tonight, huh…" she mocked them slightly, seating herself at the table between them to watch. She was not surprised however when neither of them answered until Joker had finished rolling his and wasted no time in lighting it to take a long drag from it, inhaling deeply. He exhaled a second later, blowing his smoke right into Jayde's face. She coughed, but accepted the blunt from him, laughing when Joker wiggled from head to toe, obviously feeling the affects right away.

At first, Jayde had not noticed but two bottles of liquor, one clear and one dark sat on the far end of the table and now both Joker and Tre each had a small glass of ice and alcohol in front of them. Tre took a sip of his, clearing his throat once he had swallowed and was now accepting the blunt from Jayde as she passed it. She was in the middle of admiring how fuzzy her brain was beginning to feel when Joker's voice startled her slightly.

"What is Dotcom doing?" he asked, looking over when Jayde snorted a laugh.

"He's getting ready to go out. I think he's going to dinner with a friend then they're going to some new gay club in the city." She answered, and Joker had just scoffed with a roll of his eyes when Tre coughed, handing the blunt across the table.

"Dude is gay?" he asked, as though this was hard to believe and both Joker and Jayde burst out laughing. Joker's hand slapped the table a few times as he drew on the lit cigar.

"Hell yeah, Dotcom is so gay, he probably shits rainbows." He answered, shaking his head as he passed the cigar on to Jayde again. "But he doesn't know that I know, so keep that between us." He added a second later, taking a sip of his drink.

Seemingly hours later, as was one of the effects of marijuana, the three of them were in the middle of laughing loudly at a story Tre had told about when he and Joker lived together when Dotcom came trotting down the stairs, looking _very _dapper if Jayde did say so herself. The moment Joker and Tre looked over, the confident grin that had been lurking on his face faded and he stopped at the bottom of the stairs, stashing his phone in his back pocket.

"Um…hey." He said awkwardly, now walking much more slowly toward the kitchen where all the keys hung on a nail. Joker turned in his seat, glancing at Jayde with his evil, 'I get a huge kick out of this' grin.

"Where are _you _going?" he asked, picking up his glass to bring it up but he paused before he drank some of it, tilting his head and raising his eyebrows to show Dotcom he was eagerly awaiting his answer.

"Uh-…I'm just going to dinner and a movie with a friend of mine." He answered in a voice that truly sounded much more steady than the expression on his face. "I shouldn't be back too late, so…don't wait up!" and with that, he shut the garage door behind him and Jayde slapped Joker as he snickered.

"You are such a jerk to him!" she cried, still grinning as he shrugged, finally taking a sip of that drink of his.

"No, I'm not." He answered adamantly. "If I really had a problem with him being a fag, he would not be working for me, and definitely wouldn't be living in my house." Joker paused, glancing at Tre before looking back to Jayde, cocking one eyebrow. "Now, on the other hand, if _you _were gay, Jayde…that would be a whole different story." He winked and Jayde rolled her eyes, swinging out to punch him again.

By the time Jayde really fully understood what was going on, it was nearing one in the morning and all three of them- herself, Joker and Tre- were _fairly _drunk…and not to mention incredibly high. At around midnight, Joker and Tre had noticed that she was not drinking and had insisted on making her an incredibly strong mix of some of the rum they had bought and one of the Dr. Peppers from the fridge. She had only finished half of it but had to stop when she felt a bit of the spins come on…unless she wanted this fun night to end with her unconscious on the bathroom floor. She had a feeling that the Joker was not the type that would hold her hair while she puked her guts out. She was feeling pretty good and awfully giggly though so when Tre stepped out onto the back porch, Jayde followed, plopping down in the chair next to him to ask for a cigarette.

He obliged and Jayde had just lit it when the sliding glass door slid open behind them. They both looked up in time to see Joker attempt to step outside but find out halfway that he had not opened it wide enough. Jayde and Tre burst out laughing as his shoulder banged into the door hard and he groaned, staggering through until he caught himself on the beam of the porch, giggling breathlessly.

A second later, Joker had dropped down into the chair next to Jayde and sighed, closing his eyes to move a bit of his messy hair away from his face. He must have noticed her smoking as he reached over, pulling her lit cigarette from between her fingers to take a long drag and hand it back, exhaling with a slight groan. A deep laugh escaped him before he looked over at Tre with half-lidded glassy eyes.

"Tre, I wont lie to ya, pal. I'm kinda fucked _up _right now." He admitted, glancing at Jayde as she snorted a laugh and Tre nodded, blinking slowly as he hit his own cigarette.

"Same here, Ki…Same here." Tre answered, but then laughed, looking over at Joker. "Do you remember that one time when we were jits and we got stupid drunk then ended up stealing that dude's Plymouth?" he asked and Joker nodded, laughing as he rocked forward in his chair.

"And we wrecked it not even fifteen minutes later? Oh, yeah…I remember that…" he said and both of them slipped off into flashbacks, leaving Jayde wanting to hear the full story. She glanced back and forth between them for a few seconds as they stared off in different directions with half grins on their face before she tossed her hands.

"Ok, so one of you tell me what happened, I'm interested now." She asked, looking to Joker hoping he was about to tell her but he had closed his eyes, smirking to himself with his head rested on the glass of the window behind him.

"You tell it, Tre." He said and Jayde rolled her eyes before looking to Tre, who took a deep breath before starting at the very beginning and launched into a detailed re-telling of that particular memory. Jayde listened eagerly, remembering from the first time she met him what a good story-teller he was.

She had just finished laughing at the part when it had been Joker's idea to car-jack this older man for his shitty, old model Plymouth when she glanced over only to do a slight double take. Instead of listening to Tre or even looking at him, Joker was staring…gazing at her with a smirk on his face as if he had been waiting for her to notice. He was still leaned back in the chair but now had his arms folded comfortably over his chest and only once she had grinned back at him did he look away to Tre as he finished the story.

Just then, Jayde turned when she heard the garage door open and Dotcom walked into the house, glancing around at the emptiness until he noticed the three of them sitting outside. For a second, it looked like he was about to come join them, but the next second, his phone started ringing so he answered it, trotting over to the stairs to go up, giggling as he did. Across the table, Tre nodded, obviously having watched the same thing Jayde had.

"Ah, yeah…I see it now…"

After another few minutes, the three of them went back inside, Jayde sitting down at the table, Joker going to the kitchen for water and Tre raising his arms over his head to stretch. Jayde laughed when he swayed dangerously, bracing himself against the wall as he blinked hard a few times. When he noticed her laughing, he smirked that same familiar grin as Joker had and reached up to tie his long, thin dread locks back off of his shoulders.

"I'm about to crash out, yo…" he told Joker once he had come back around the corner holding a glass of ice water. He nodded but raised his eyebrows when Tre went on. "And for fuck sake, man…Do NOT come wake me up to do something before noon tomorrow, a'right?"

Joker laughed, pointing at him. "Can't make any promises but I'll keep that in mind." He said this, although he was thinking it was going to be _highly _ unlikely that he would be feeling up to much of anything the next day. For the moment, however, he was feeling awfully good and could not get over the way Jayde looked like an absolute sex kitten as she stood up from the table once Tre had gone into his room. Joker could feel the monster inside him growling hungrily as he followed her into the kitchen while she carried the empty glasses in to set them in the sink.

At first, he just watched, knowing his opportune moment would reveal itself when the time was right for him to pounce and it did not come until he had followed her to the stairs at a distance. He knew that Jayde knew what he was doing but he was beyond caring; alcohol had that sort of affect on him.

He was just admiring the way her hips swung in his face as he slinked up the stairs behind her when Jayde tossed her hair over her shoulder and Joker took a deep breath of the coconut scent of her shampoo, exhaling with a slight growl. A second later, he reached out to grab the back of her low-rise jeans and he pulled her down until she landed on the stairs on her ass. Of course, Jayde did the opposite of what he had expected and burst into giggles as he crawled up a few steps until he was between her knees with his hands on the stairs on either side of her shoulders. He smirked down at her, shaking his head.

"You're not supposed to _laugh_, Jayde."

His voice sounded a bit deeper than usual and immediately, Jayde stopped laughing once she had noticed the look in his eyes. It could have been the liquor having an effect on him but Jayde had a feeling it would be easier to rationalize it later if she just pretended he was finally showing her some genuine affection. She sighed, tilting her head back as he reached down, tracing the curve of her neck from her chin to her collarbones with one finger, slowly.

"You just gonna sleep in your room all by your onesy again?" he asked quietly, leaning down to place his lips just below her ear and plant a soft kiss there. "Or you gonna come sleep with me…" he added a second later and it took a lot for Jayde not to moan right out loud. Her hands found his shoulders and she curled her fingers, tightening her grip slightly.

"I wanna sleep with _you_, mister Joker…" she purred a second later, laughing breathlessly when he hmm-ed delightedly, rising from the stairs to pull her up with him.

They had almost reached his bedroom door when Jayde gasped then giggled, surprised to find that she still felt a little tipsy as she turned to face him, now walking backwards. Joker raised an eyebrow as he reached out to grab her hips.

"Wait, wait…" she started, moving away from his door. "I need something to sleep in." Joker laughed, shaking his head.

"No, you don't." he answered, now pulling her inside his pitch dark room with him, his hands sliding from her hips to the small of her back. Jayde sighed contentedly, tilting her back but gasped a second later when he reached down to grab the back of her thighs, pick her up and wrap her legs around his waist. A girly giggle escaped her against her will and her hands rested on his shoulders as he stepped over to his bed to sit on the edge with her straddling his lap.

He laughed, looking up at her in the dark with a slight grin on his face. "I'm kinda drunk, Jayde…" he admitted a moment later, laying down on his back along his bed, groaning happily when she lay along his chest, arching her back when his hands slid onto that deep dip.

"I am too." She replied, giggling when Joker moved her hair to the side to let his lips come to rest on her neck, kissing her lightly a few times. All playful giggles ceased however when Joker pulled back only slightly and Jayde shivered as he exhaled slowly against her skin, his warm breath sending chills all over her body. His hands had just snaked up the back of her shirt to pull it off and once it had been tossed across the room, he pulled her back down, now nipping lightly at her shoulder.

"I'm glad you're living here now." He murmured in that deep, raspy, clowny voice, grinning to himself when Jayde shivered as he pinched her bra clasp, popping it apart. She sat up when her hair fell over her shoulders, hiding her now exposed breasts from him.

"Why? Cause you can get this whenever you want now?" Her answer came out before she even had a chance to think about what she was accusing him of and she blamed it on the alcohol. Luckily, Joker didn't seem to notice her connotation.

"_Nooo…_" he replied, reaching up to move her hair slightly to let his finger trace the delicate curve of her breast. "Because you're always happy to see me…People usually aren't that happy to see me…It's a nice change of pace."

Jayde smiled at him, laying back down to quickly press her lips to his neck and Joker groaned, tugging down on her hips as he brought his up. She pulled away just in time to catch Joker grinning at her, watching her eyes for those tell-tale signs of pure, unfiltered lust circulating in her veins and she practically purred as she rocked her hips back then forward.

After just a second of this, Joker pushed himself up to his elbows before he moved backward toward his pillows to sink into them, groaning when Jayde went with him, crawling back onto his lap. His hands reached out again, fingering the button of her jeans as if hinting that he would like these to come off next and that she should get to it soon before he decided to take the lead.

So once Jayde had discarded of her jeans, she climbed back on top of him, straddling his hips as Joker hmm-ed deep in his chest. His eyes had taken in almost everything about her at that moment, from the way her collarbones and delicate shoulders made her hourglass shape more dynamic to the way her lips somewhat puckered naturally on their own. Both of his hands now reached up, contouring her curvy, thin figure from her ribs down to her hips where he gripped her hard enough to bruise, groaning as he tilted his head back. The Joker was nearing the end of his patience.

Jayde had come to recognize this time by now so she scooted down until she sat on his legs and reached out to unbuckle his belt, loving the way the metal sounded as it clinked pleasantly. Joker was watching her, his breathing slightly staggered now with anxiousness and Jayde threw a playful smirk at him as she slowed her movements, in love with the way she was torturing him. Seconds later, Joker's deep voice broke the quiet.

"Don't _tease _me, Jayde." He threatened darkly, his eyes now closed and goosebumps erupted all over her skin at the way he said her name when he was about to fuck her. So she hurried to undo his belt all the way and tug his jeans down until they were low enough to free him from that denim prison. He sighed with slight relief only for his breath to catch in his chest when she reached out, wrapping both of her small hands around him firmly. They moved up, slowly, to the very tip before back down where she tightened her grip, pulling another deep moan from him.

"Stop." He said after she did this again and he reached down to grab her wrist and pull her toward him. "Get to it or it's _my_ turn." He then growled and Jayde shivered again; she was growing to absolutely love his threats.

So after Joker had watched her slide her underwear down her legs, he was in the process of tracing the scar on his bottom lip with his tongue when Jayde climbed onto his lap again, positioning her hips perfectly above him. She hesitated, watching his eyes as they slowly slid up from her waiting pussy to her eyes where he squinted at her.

As much as he felt he _needed _ to be in control, just laying there and letting Jayde do all the work was turning out to be quite fun, albeit frustrating on a level he had never experienced before. So after a few seconds of waiting, he suddenly reached out to grab her hips and force her down on to him while lifting his hips sharply, entering her to the hilt. Jayde let out a yelp but Joker was not concerned about anyone hearing her. In fact, he rather hoped he would have the whole house of drunks awake in a matter of minutes.

But when Jayde began to move her hips, he closed his eyes, letting out a content, relieved sigh as if he had just taken a hit of his favorite drug and he could literally feel the tension drain rapidly from him. Her hands had come to rest on his chest, over the white, v-neck t-shirt he was wearing, but a second later, he sat up slightly to discard it, suddenly eager to feel her hands on his bare skin. He groaned when she raked her nails along his chest to his stomach, over the faint outline of his muscles.

His hands had been resting lightly low on her hips but he tightened his grip, looking up at Jayde as she rocked her head back and to the side, sliding her eyes closed.

"_God…"_ she whimpered, but looked down at Joker as he laughed breathlessly.

"You can just call me Joker, baby…" he growled, baring his teeth in a snarling grin when Jayde laughed, leaning over to practically lay on his chest. Her hips continued to move but she now nudged his chin with her nose, forcing him to tilt his head back so she could kiss that one secret spot on his neck.

"Oh, _Joker…" _ she purred in his ear, grinning to herself when he grunted, then pulled her hips down onto him, hard. A soft gasp left her only to be followed by a loud moan as he starting moving his hips, coming up to meet her as he pulled her down each time.

They fell into a dangerous rhythm that soon had Jayde making awfully loud noises and Joker practically panting as he arched his back. Upon reflection, he could not remember a time where he had ever let a girl ride him for this long before taking over but surprisingly, he was _really_ enjoying this and had a feeling that Jayde might have been doing some homework on the weekends while he had been away…

Jayde had just let out a fairly loud whimper when Joker brought his knees up in an effort to get her to stop for a few moments and let him fight it off but either she did not catch the cue or ignored it. She kept going. Joker growled, closing his eyes to try and think of something else and at first, he succeeded, only to be brought back abruptly to earth when he felt Jayde place her hand high up on his chest, just below his neck.

For a second, he thought…he _hoped _ she was about to place that little hand of hers on the front of his neck and apply pressure but she didn't and instead rocked forward on her hands, allowing him to pull out of her. She was breathing hard and as he looked up at her, slightly confused, she grinned, shrugging.

"It's your turn now." She explained.

"Ya sure?" he asked as he sat up, moving to stand up at the edge of the bed and once she had nodded, he reached out, grabbing the back of her hips to pull her across the bed toward him until she was at the perfect height for him to thrust his hips, entering her swiftly once more. Standing, Joker was able to give himself much more momentum and Jayde literally cried out as he swung into a rough rhythm. Seconds later, Joker was groaning with her, closing his eyes to tilt his head back.

"Fuck, I _love _this pussy…" Jayde heard him growl from behind her and she opened her eyes; she had never heard him use the L-word before.

It was not long before Jayde was beside herself, crying out his name, not even caring who else was still awake and hearing all of this and apparently, neither did Joker. He was panting, thrusting as deeply into her as he could and although it did hurt slightly, Jayde was beyond caring and as she came, little sparkly lights flashed in her vision, her ears now ringing a bit. Joker was not far behind her and he came with a deep groan, rocking his hips a few more times until he pulled out of her, shaking his head roughly as though to clear away fuzziness.

Jayde had landed on her stomach and was expecting Joker to lay down next to her once he had fastened his jeans back up but instead, he crashed down into the pillows. Disappointment threatened to overtake her but a moment later, she felt his strong arms wrap around her to pull her up close to him, against his chest.

He smelled wonderful, she thought to herself as they caught their breath- like sex, a little like sweat, liqour, and a bit of the cologne he always wore. She was about to tell him and had just looked up at him to do so when his lips met hers and she sighed softly, realizing suddenly that this was the first time they had kissed each other all day and how much she had missed it.

Jayde practically melted against him when he brought his other hand up, touching the side of her face with the backs his fingers, eventually tracing her curved scar down to the corner of her lips and he pulled away, sighing against her. Just barely, in the faint light shining around the edge of the blanket thrown over the window, Jayde could see his shiny brown eyes, watching her, glancing back and forth between her blue ones a few times. For a second, it looked as though he was about to say something as his lips parted, but he closed them again, his brow now slightly furrowed. Jayde wanted to ask him what he was going to say but realized that it didn't matter. Just the fact that he was holding her now was enough for her and she closed her eyes, sighing in deep contentment.

Several minutes passed and although Jayde's eyes were closed, she knew he was still watching her, still studying her and it did not bother her in the least bit. She just hoped he was still there in the morning when she woke up and with that, she let herself slip off to sleep, curled up in his arms.

A/N- YEAH, YEAH…I KNOW…"the Joker can't have lovey-dovey emotions" blah, blah, blah. Everything I write is for a _reason_, so just keep readin', kiddos. Its bout to get rough. Buckle up. -QOM


	7. The Lion and The Lamb

This night in Gotham seemed more bitterly cold than usual, more biting than what could be considered normal and Joker pulled the edges of his coat across his chest, shivering slightly. A few articles of trash blew by him where he stood in between two buildings, tucked away into a dark alley, and he watched them go with a vague frown on his face. It had been so easy to get up and leave once Jayde had fallen asleep but now, as he stood in the freezing cold by himself, he began to wonder why he had left at all. Goosebumps rose all over his arms as he imagined how warm and toasty his bed probably was right at that moment.

But thinking back to an hour earlier, he had been laying there in the dark, his skin practically crawling with anxiety once the affects of the alcohol had worn off. He was stone sober now and felt somewhat achy, but more than anything, he felt positively sick that he was, at the time, unable to figure out what he was going to do about Jayde. It had been so clear before, so obvious that she should come stay with him but things were starting evolve…from what was once a hot little fuck buddy into something a little bit more…or less_. _That, and it had only been a week.

If he were honest with himself, and really _truly _honest, Joker could admit hesitantly that he was starting to have little…emotions for her. He supposed one could call it a crush of sorts but just the thought of that word in his brain made him feel like throwing up. A second later, he actually gagged and half-doubled over but he figured that was partly from the liquor earlier. Straightening up, he shook his head roughly and cleared his throat to close his eyes and lean back against the wall behind him.

_No, definitely not a crush_, he thought savagely. Over the years, he had seen to it diligently that there would be no possible place left in his mind for those sort of feelings and to believe that any semblance of a romantic emotion would leave him weak, stupid. Things with Jayde needed to be handled, _quickly_. And as with most, if not, all things in his life, Joker was positive that the opportune moment in which to completely change their game up would show itself…soon.

Not only all of this, Jayde had become _incredibly _distracting, with the way she smiled at him, the way she walked, the way she carried herself, that new-found confidence she had obtained and worst of all, the way she fucking kissed him…and the way she _always _wanted him to kiss her. Joker did indeed have big plans for Gotham and he could not afford to be running around after her, drooling all over himself all the time. She was a pretty face and an incredibly tight pussy, nothing more.

He opened his eyes as he heard voices nearing from behind him, voices that sounded as though they belonged to teenagers walking along the street, drunk, probably having just left one of the clubs. A smirk began to form on Joker's face and he felt that familiar sense of malice start to creep up inside of him…Time to have a little _real _fun for a change…

Jayde sighed disappointedly before she had even opened her eyes. Her hand was stretched across the bed and now lay rested on the cold area that was Joker's spot. She knew he wouldn't be there but still she had hoped fleetingly that by some miracle he would be laying there growling quietly in his sleep…but he was still missing.

Her eyes had opened a few hours prior just as the bedroom door had clicked shut behind him and that same let down sigh had escaped her then just as it had when she woke up. For the life of her, Jayde couldn't understand why he couldn't just sleep through the night and relax in a post-coital bliss just like normal people…but then again, Joker was nearly everything but normal.

A dim square of light was peeking out from around the edges of the heavy black blanket Joker had thrown over his window so Jayde got up, mildly surprised to find that she had slept naked all night. After finding her clothes, she put them on to step out into the hallway. Dotcom's door was still closed surprisingly so she bypassed it, knowing there would be a cigarette and a chat in the near future. Now she was passing the landing, trying not to glance down to look for Joker but she could not help it and turned her head, only to sigh for a third time when she found the entire first floor empty of her roommates.

Jayde stepped into her bedroom a moment later, closing the door behind her to strip off her clothes and head into the bathroom for a shower, hoping as she went that someone, Joker, would be downstairs when she emerged.

After spending a little extra time shampooing her hair and making sure it was rinsed free of conditioner, Jayde shut off the water and grabbed a towel, bringing a gush of steam out into the bedroom when she opened the door. At first, she paused, straining her ears for any voices from the rest of the house, but of course, she heard none so went to the closet to find something to wear.

She had just settled on a pair of black jeans and a gray long-sleeved shirt when far-off, she heard the garage door squeak open then shut, followed shortly by the clatter of keys being tossed onto the wooden, kitchen table. Now a little quicker, she finished tossing on the shirt to walk over and step out into the hallway, only to roll her eyes when she noticed Tre seated at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. It wasn't that she was unhappy to see him; she was just unhappy that she was seeing him and not someone else.

As she came down the stairs, Tre glanced up but went back to reading the magazine he had bought, turning the page slowly as he ate his bagel. Jayde passed him into the kitchen but could not help herself from asking, "Any idea where Joker went last night?"

Tre grunted, waiting to finish chewing before he answered, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Nah, he does that sometimes. He should be back in-…"

Just then, the sound of the garage door cut him off and as if he had been listening, Joker stepped inside to stop on the threshold, looking _slightly_ green in the face.

"-now…" Tre finished his sentence, going back to reading while Jayde smirked at Joker. He held up a hand when she started to speak and he took a deep, steadying breath.

"Excuse me, I think I'm gonna go throw up for a bit." He said somewhat politely and ran to the stairs, taking them two at a time until he had disappeared into his room, shutting the door behind him. At the table, Tre laughed, shaking his head.

"Ki never was the drinking type…"

Before long, Dotcom emerged from his room looking rather hung over and he immediately walked down to the kitchen and straight over to the coffee maker, dosing it with water and grounds to let it bubble away quietly. He looked at Jayde as he turned and leaned against the counter, taking off his glasses to clean them with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Once he had put them back on, he sent Jayde a glare that had her feeling as though he might have heard a little bit of the commotion coming from Joker's room the previous night. Jayde walked by him to go outside on the porch, patting his arm as she went.

"Sorry, Dotcom." She said, grinning at him as he arched an eyebrow.

"Mmhm."

He joined her a few minutes later, pulling his pack of smokes from his pocket to light one and once Jayde had done the same, he leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes.

"You guys need to be separated." He commented after a few silent seconds and Jayde laughed, ashing her cigarette.

"I know…" she answered, glancing down at the ground. "He's insatiable."_ Actually, I think it's me that's insatiable, _she thought a second later.

It grew quiet again but soon after, the sliding glass door slid open and Joker stepped out, in a clean, black t-shirt and his gray cotton pajama pants, looking a little worse for wear. He grunted as he sat down at the table, his eyes somewhat red and half-closed and if Jayde didn't know any better, she would almost guess that he had been crying, but she almost laughed out loud at that notion. It was probably just from lack of sleep and then feeling bad on top of it. A long sigh heaved his chest as he leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

"Feeling any better?" Jayde asked tenderly, reaching over to pat his hand as it rested on his knee only to frown when he pulled it away to cross his arms over his chest.

"No," he answered flatly, but then stood abruptly to go back inside. "I should probably get some water."

Jayde sighed once he had gone and Dotcom looked over, shaking his head.

"Looks like it's gonna be one of those days, sweetie." He said, poking out his bottom lip sympathetically when Jayde rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, I'm just going to leave him alone and let him be cranky." She answered and with that, they both stood after putting out their cigarettes and ventured inside.

Across the room, Jayde could see Joker's legs from the knees down dangling over the arm rest at the end of the couch and she wished for a half-second that she could go over there and be near him. Of course, she could very well go do that, but she was getting the distinct impression, even this early in the morning that he was feeling rather grumpy and just wanted to be left alone. So she did just that and sat down at the table to eat some cereal and quiet her growling stomach.

Not long from then, however, a loud knock on the garage door caused everyone to jump and even across at the couch, Joker sat up quickly, blinking hard. The four of them glanced at each other before Dotcom walked over, placing his ear next to the door.

"Who's that?" he asked loudly in a deeper voice as Joker stood from the couch, glancing at Tre. There was a pause before the knocker answered.

"It's Linman!" he barked. "Open up!"

Joker sighed heavily, his shoulders relaxing as he sat at the head of the table, resting his pounding head in his hands. The garage door opened and the police officer stepped in, immediately taking his gun from its holster to place it on the kitchen counter; Jayde had a feeling that this was a rule of Joker's for when anyone came into the house.

At first, Officer Linman had been looking chipper and somewhat pleasant when he entered but was now staring around at all the cranky, hung-over roommates before tossing his hands.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" he asked in a thick, New-Yorker accent, now looking to Joker who was rubbing his eyes, slowly, groaning a very low, raspy groan. Jayde, feeling the best out of everyone, smiled and shrugged.

"They had a little too much to drink last night." she explained and Officer Linman sat down at the table across from her and next to Joker, his handcuffs and police utility belt clanking slightly against the wood of the chair. Jayde glanced at Tre to find he was still watching Linman with an unsure look in his eyes. She grinned but looked back when the officer addressed her.

"You know, Detective Mitchell has been asking about you." He said and Jayde felt her stomach drop. "Might want to touch base with her soon. She tends to stick her nose where it ought not be." At the head of the table, Joker brought his head up, looking at both of them.

"Hmm…" he growled, his eyes now fixed on a spot on the table and Jayde glanced at Tre; they both knew that wasn't a good sound for anybody when Joker hmm-ed like that…it usually meant he was plotting. A second later, he stood up, grabbing his glass of ice water to take it with him to the stairs. "Officer, wont you join me in the…office? Tre, you too?" he asked in a polite manner but with a voice that made it obvious they had no choice. Both men immediately stood to follow him and once all three were shut upstairs in Joker's office, Jayde sighed, taking her cereal bowl to the kitchen.

Unfortunately, Dotcom had been called up to 'meeting' just minutes after everyone else had gone up there so now Jayde was left sitting on the couch feeling lonely and rather sorry for herself. She knew it was stupid to be feeling left out as she was sure she would much rather be sitting there than in Joker's office with the three guys but still, she couldn't help but wish there was something she could be doing.

The longer she sat there, watching tv, Jayde began to realize that she _did _have a television in her room now and that her bed was much more comfortable than this couch, so she stood up and went upstairs, grabbing a pillow before laying down on her stomach to turn it on. The weather channel was on from the day before and Jayde waited for a few minutes to listen only for the weatherman to tell her that Gotham could possibly be expecting a bit of rain over the next day or two and that it would result in a slight drop in temperature. Jayde rolled her eyes; there went her excitement for spring.

She was just about to change the channel, when down the hall, the sound of Joker's office door could be heard swinging open and voices filled the silence. After muting the tv, Jayde strained to hear what they were saying but everyone seemed to be dispersing- Dotcom, into his room, Tre and Linman downstairs and Joker…

Jayde looked over when he stepped into her doorway, an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes flickered over her spread out figure before he looked back to her face and Jayde was about to hope he was going to come in and sit down with her, but he did not and instead stayed put, drumming his fingers on the frame of the door. He raised his eyebrows.

"We're leaving here in twenty minutes. Come downstairs in ten so I can fill you in on our little…" he wiggled his fingers in a demonstrative sort of way. "…-mission." When Jayde did not reply, he leaned into the room slightly, nodding his head slowly. "Say _'yes'_ if you understand what I'm telling you." He added, his voice carrying a bit of bite to it that she had not heard him use in a while. Jayde finally nodded in response but Joker did not leave the doorway until she sighed, sitting up.

"_Yes._" She answered exasperatedly. "I understand you." As hard as she tried to keep some irritation out of her voice as she was feeling fully aggravated now, a small amount of it carried into her reply but luckily Joker either didn't notice it or ignored it. He cocked his head to the side with a forced smile that wrinkled the corners of his eyes.

"Good." He said, that smile vanishing instantly as he turned to walk away and once he had gone, Jayde sighed, rising from the bed to go downstairs. Something definitely wasn't right.

Eight and a half minutes later, Jayde was downstairs, sitting at the kitchen table by herself, wondering where everyone had gone. Tre's door was open but his room seemed empty and quiet. It also seemed that Linman had left and Jayde was about to stand up and walk outside to see if his police cruiser was still in the driveway when she heard a door open upstairs. Moments later, she turned when she noticed Joker trotting down the stairs, now dressed in black, pinstriped slacks and a white, Oxford button-down shirt, untucked, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His head was bowed as he pulled on a dark gray vest over the shirt and he had just moved to button it when he noticed her so he left it open, clapping his hands together twice. It appeared as though he was feeling much better by then and in fact, looked rather handsomely dressed at that. Jayde was about to tell him when he sat down at the table, bringing a vague wave of that cologne with him and she was immediately distracted by taking a deep breath.

"DOTCOM!" he shouted, causing Jayde to jump, startled out of the half-trance the smell of his cologne had put her in. A second later, he appeared on the top landing, putting his glasses on his face.

"Sorry." He muttered as he walked over. "What'd I miss?" Joker sighed irritably, dropping his hands on the table heavily.

"Your twenty-fifth birthday if you don't get back upstairs and get that mic-receiver." He said with a snarl, glaring after the nerd as he hurried back up the stairs and into his room before he returned, now slightly winded. "Good. Sit." He then commanded, kicking the leg of the chair across from him under the table so it scooted out enough for Dotcom to sit down. "Now," he began once everyone was sitting and he turned to Jayde, raising his eyebrows. "_Jayde, _today we are going to pay a lit-tle visit to your dear friend Detective Mitchell…"

At first, her eyes widened, a worried look immediately crossing her face but Joker rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. "No, no," he went on. "I'm not going to _kill_ her…yet. But we do need to make sure she sees you and you two have a chance to uh-…catch up. _So-o-o-o, _Dotcom, that's where your little gadget comes in…"

After what seemed like a half-hour, Joker had finally finished explaining to Jayde that they were setting out to meet Tre and Officer Linman in Gotham and that she was going to be doing a little shopping in order to 'bump into' Detective Mitchell. Now, as she trailed along in Joker's wake out into the garage, she found herself a little uneasy about this particular plan of his and wasn't so sure she was ready to face the detective again, especially with so much riding on her ability to lie. That day, when Joker had been caught, Jayde had been so positive right away that she absolutely hated the tall, strong-featured police woman but that didn't exactly mean she wanted to set the woman up to be murdered by the Joker…and there was no mistaking it now; that was exactly what he was planning. Jayde could see the outline of a handgun tucked into the back of his pants, under his shirt and vest as she climbed into the Escalade after him.

The ride to Gotham started out incredibly silent, almost deafeningly so, and for the first ten minutes, Jayde could not help but feel incredibly angry with Joker for some reason or another. It just seemed so unfair to her that she would expend so much effort into pleasing him, into making sure she followed his little behavioral 'rules', like not staring at him, maintaining a respectful distance unless he touched her first, not being as sarcastic as she wanted to be. All of this, for Joker to treat her like his captive again. Just a hug or even a pat on the armwould have been enough for her…But then again…he's the Joker.

Jayde's stony expression remained firmly in place as she watched the trees flying by, underneath a canopy of gray, overcast skies, threatening heavily of rain, while across from her, Joker was looking the opposite way, scowling at the same surroundings on the other side of the road. An image flashed quickly into his mind of two pissed off little kids with their arms folded, facing opposite directions with their noses in the air and he rolled his eyes to himself. His knee had started to bounce at some point and he was absolutely positive that Dotcom could feel it in the back of the driver's seat but he knew better than to complain, so Joker kept going. There was something relaxing about it and as that pent up energy, that extreme _itch _to get out and do something threatened to consume him completely on the way to the city, bouncing his knee was really the only thing he could do to relieve it…either that or blow everyone in the cars brains out. However, Dotcom was rather useful at times and honestly, so was Jayde, so he decided against that and took to biting on his bottom lip instead.

Finally, _finally,_ the wheels of the SUV touched Gotham City asphalt and Joker let out a satisfied groan, rolling down the window slightly to take a deep breath of the stinky, busy air that blew through the bustling city. It smelled like fun times and mischief and something about it seemed to always give Joker a serious case of butterflies.

He was about to tell Dotcom where he should be headed when he realized _he _didn't know where they should be headed, so he dug the counter-part to Linman's walkie-talkie from his pocket, pressing the button on the side to speak into it.

"Alright, piggy, where are you…?" he asked, turning slightly to watch a few cars go by, releasing the button to hear a response. It made a 'csh'-ing sound before the policeman's voice came through, somewhat muffled as he was obviously speaking into the small radio on his shoulder.

"On the corner of twenty-first and Cleveland on the south side, facing the H&M between the Bose store and DJ's restaurant." Linman answered in a very professional, police sort of way and Jayde rolled her eyes. "Subject is walking along Cleveland, wearing khaki pants and black coat."

"Alright, keep an eye on her. We're dropping off 'Jay' at her place and she'll be on her way." Joker answered before he stowed the radio back into the pocket of his black coat and he turned to Jayde. "Right, so you're more than likely going to have to take a cab to get there." He explained, reaching now into an inside pocket to pull out a wad of cash a second later; he handed it to her, watching with a scowl as she placed it in her purse.

She had just turned her head back to look out the window when Joker suddenly reached out, grabbing her jaw to hold it in a tight, vice-like grip and turn her face back toward him. It hurt, but Jayde did not whimper and instead grabbed his wrist to pull his hand away from her face, twisting her neck to help her do so. Her eyebrows practically met in the middle as she glared at him and Joker held up a black gloved finger in her face.

"You _fuck_ this up 'cause you're not paying attention and I swear…" he snapped loudly and Jayde cowered slightly, but still maintained eye contact with him as she nodded. "Now," Joker went on a second later, as if nothing had happened. "Once we drop you off in the basement, you walk out to the street, hail a cab and ask him to take you to the corner of twenty-_first,"_ he added heavy emphasis on the 't'. "-and Cleveland. Yes?"

"Yes." She answered at once, wanting to avoid another rough face-grabbing. Joker nodded, patting Dotcom's shoulder until he handed back that watch and ear piece that she had used at the grocery store. With it fastened around her wrist and the tiny, flesh-colored piece in her ear, Jayde looked up from her hand to Joker to find him watching her, eyebrows furrowed. If she didn't know any better, she would guess that he was thinking of apologizing later when the bruises on her cheek showed up…but unfortunately, she knew better.

Once the SUV had bounced into the basement of her apartment building, Jayde could feel a sense of foreboding creeping up inside of her but she knew there was no way she could just turn to him and say she didn't want to do it, especially with the unusually foul mood Joker was in that day. She also fleetingly imagined just going upstairs to her apartment and hiding in there for a bit, to let him cool down, but upon second thought, she had a feeling that might make him just a _little _bit worse. Just as she was about to try and think up some other scenario to get her out of this, the truck came to a stop and Joker was now staring at her expectantly. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the door handle only to stop when he spoke.

"I'm watching you," he said as if he had been reading her mind and Jayde honestly felt a little bit like the way she did when she had first 'met' him, when he had been stalking her. It seemed as though everything was starting to come full-circle.

Once Jayde had gotten out, the Cadillac zoomed out of the garage, made a right turn and disappeared so she walked to the stairwell to go up one flight to the street level, where she walked out toward the speeding cars. Several taxis were driving by at the time but most of them had their 'in-service' lights on, so Jayde stopped and looked left, immediately spotting the black Escalade at the intersection next to where she now stood. Just then, a taxi turned down that street and did not have its' light on, so Jayde held up her hand, lowering it a second later when the cab pulled over.

The door squeaked slightly as she opened it and Jayde nearly jumped; her nerves were a little short at the moment.

"Where to, miss?" the cabbie asked, half-turning in his seat to look at her.

"Uh, twenty-first and Cleveland. Or in front of the H&M right there, your call." She said as naturally as she could. Joker's voice in her ear sounded raspy and clowny.

"_Ahhh_, little miss smarty-pants, hm?"

Finally, Jayde allowed herself a small grin.

The ride did not take very long at all and Jayde was just about to wonder why she didn't just walk when she noticed the side-profile of Officer Linman's police cruiser across the street parked in front of a small boutique. The cab had come to a stop and she paid the man ten dollars before getting out, draping her purse over her shoulder confidently, glancing up at the front of the store. The man was thanking her over his shoulder but it was somewhat hard listening to him when Joker was talking in her ear.

"Alright, Jaydie, Mitchell just went into the store so go in and look for her. I don't have eyes in there so let me know what's happening ." It sounded as though he was murmuring but Jayde figured it was just the low volume on the ear piece. A second later, his voice came again. "Look to the right."

She obeyed, turning her head to look over toward the outside patio of the restaurant 'DJ's' and Joker's voice came through again.

"See Tre sitting there? Tre, scratch your ear if you see her." Jayde finally spotted him while Joker paused and she noticed Tre reach up and pick at his ear completely nonchalantly. "Alright, good. Jayde, Tre can hear you so if you have any problems, just say something and he's coming in."

By now, Jayde had made it inside the store and was mildly surprised to find herself somewhat excited at the sight of all the clothes and purses, belts, shoes and jewelry. She immediately went over to a rack, reaching out to feel the material of a cute sweater. Turning her back to the rest of the store, she leaned down as if looking at the price tag and spoke quietly.

"So am I allowed to actually shop while I'm here?" she asked, smirking to herself when she heard Joker sigh and Tre groan.

"Find Mitchell first, then _maybe…"_ he answered and Jayde was absolutely positive he was rolling his eyes heavily.

Upon first, gut instinct, Jayde would have guessed that she could more than likely find the detective in the business casual section of clothes and not so likely in the lingerie section so she went over to the stairs in the very center of the store to go up one level to where she was guessing the more professional-looking clothes were found. Fortunately, the ear piece hidden behind her thick, curly hair was silent for the time being so Jayde could think and be at her most alert.

The second floor of the building was set up almost exactly as the one below it, although being short was proving incredibly disadvantageous at the moment as Jayde could not see over the tops of the numerous racks of clothing. Luckily, the ear piece hidden behind her thick, curly hair was momentarily silent, giving Jayde time to think and concentrate. She tried hard not to look around too much and instead turned left into a cluster of clothing racks hoping to just slowly wind her way through the maze. It was gradually starting to dawn on her that there was starting to be a good chance that the tall detective would find her first and just as she was starting to grow slightly apprehensive, a familiar voice called out.

"Jayde?"

She turned, and immediately smiled although she felt a large weight drop into her stomach at the sight of the tall, slightly broad-shouldered detective walking toward her, a quizzical grin on her face. Despite the growing sense of uneasiness, Jayde turned, smiling warmly.

"Hey!" she answered, glancing down at the bags Detective Mitchell was already carrying. "What are you doing here?" she then asked stupidly and was about to roll her eyes when she heard Joker through the earpiece murmur 'wow…' Her grin expanded at this.

Either the detective did not catch the stupid question or was refraining from a sarcastic answer as she shrugged, glancing around. "It's my first day off in about a month so I'm catching up on a little shopping." She replied, then tilted her head to the side a little girlishly as normal females do and Jayde began to feel like maybe this was a real person after all. "Still working at Starbucks?" she asked and Jayde felt that weight in her stomach sink a bit lower.

"No, actually I'm an online consultant for an advertising firm." Her reply came without missing a beat. "Just a lot of boring computer stuff. Keeps me at home most of the time." The policewoman nodded, then glanced her up and down once before shaking her head with something of a proud smile on her face.

"You look so great, Jayde. I'm really glad you're doing well." She commented in a slightly softer voice cuing Jayde to nod somewhat solemnly.

"Well, I figured I needed to move on and change things a bit." Jayde answered, shrugging as her smile expanded a bit. "Things are looking up for now." This last bit wasn't necessarily a lie.

Detective Mitchell smiled warmly but then stepped forward to hug Jayde lightly, and she returned it but hoped and prayed the ear piece wouldn't make a sound while her ear was right next to the detectives'. Luckily, it stayed silent and they broke away a second later, smiling at each other.

"Alright, Jayde…" she began, shifting her bags in her hands at her sides. "You still have my number? You should call sometime and we'll have lunch, granted I'm not running around chasing bad guys."

Jayde laughed, wondering if the Joker was included in those 'bad guys'…more than likely…

"Yeah, I'll do that!" she answered a second later, then was about to say goodbye when she realized something. "Hey, I don't even know what your first name is!"

Detective Mitchell laughed, tossing some of her short brown hair away from her face before answering. "Olivia."

Finally, goodbyes had been said and Jayde turned to continue browsing the rack nearest her, surprised to find that she did not feel the slightest bit nervous anymore after talking to 'Olivia'. As much as she hated to admit to herself, she was actually kind of nice…when she wasn't interrogating Jayde on her supposed 'rape'. She jumped slightly when the ear piece rang out with Joker's voice.

"Oh-_livia…_" he growled and Jayde could just picture him leaning back in the back seat of the Escalade, smirking. "You should probably call and set up that uh-…lunch date pretty soon." He added, his tone mocking and cynical. Jayde rolled her eyes. "Alright, now, come down and let's blow this joint, I gotta few places to run through." He was now saying and Jayde frowned as she admired a cute turquoise dress, reaching out to trace her finger along the hem.

"No," she answered adamantly. "I need some new clothes and things so I'm going to stay and shop for a bit."

The other end of the ear piece fell deathly silent but only until Joker had found something to say. He sighed irritably and Jayde could tell he was rubbing his eyes with two fingers; she grinned to herself. She was literally the only person on earth who could tell Joker what _she _was going to do. A few moments later, his snappy voice came back.

"Fine." He answered. "Tre will be outside at the restaurant when you come out. You have one hour _ex-act-ly." _His voice had become gravely and threatening and since he couldn't see her, she rolled her eyes generously to herself. But since he was conceding to her wishes, she agreed; one hour, no more. There was definitely plenty of things she could blow Joker's money on in sixty whole minutes…

A long and satisfyingly solitary hour later, Jayde emerged from the store, carrying four bags, absolutely full of clothes, under garments and shoes and never, until then, understood how incredible it felt to not have a spending limit. She sighed with a smile as she imagined how much fun she and Dotcom were going to have when they got home, putting outfits together and trying different shoes with different dresses. She also had a feeling that it would be fairly entertaining trying on her new underwear and bras for Mister Joker…

Just outside on the patio of DJ's restaurant, Jayde spotted Tre, still browsing a newspaper in the same spot, and as she turned to walk over to him, he looked up, the expression on his face reading that she was definitely not supposed to talk to him so she quickly made it look as though she was walking to the edge of the street. His deep voice spoke quietly through the ear piece to her.

"Ki wants you to take a cab back to your place. He's meeting you there in the basement in spot twelve." He said and once again, Jayde nearly nodded but refrained and instead replied "alright."

_Hopefully he's in a better mood, _she thought somewhat bitterly to herself as she raised her arm to hail one of the four taxis driving by only to lower it again when one pulled over and stopped right in front of her.

Ten minutes and ten dollars later, Jayde was getting out on the same corner on which she had been picked up, gathering her bags to walk toward her building only to go back downstairs into the garage. Just as Joker had the day they left her apartment after he had broken out, she paused in the doorway and counted parking spaces until she noticed the front of the black Escalade parked in between two smaller cars. She could see Dotcom through the windshield and smiled goofily, holding up the bags so he could see as she approached. He only grinned back but she knew he was probably really excited to see what she bought.

The back right door opened for her and she climbed in, breathing a sigh as Joker looked over, one eyebrow cocked, just as the car went into gear and pulled out of the garage. His eyes had traveled slowly from her grinning face down her body until they stopped on the four bags she had brought into the car and his scowl deepened slightly. Jayde shrugged.

"I did a little shopping." She put simply, smiling when Joker snorted, looking away.

"Clearly…" he answered, his voice clowny and raspy.

Jayde was about to roll her eyes and turn away when she noticed that Joker had been doing a little shopping himself as one, single white bag sat between his feet on the floor of the car, but to avoid another confrontation, she did not comment or ask what it was. She had a feeling she would find out relatively soon, since Joker never liked to keep a good surprise for too long.

The ride back out into the countryside was nearly as silent as the one before it and Jayde glanced over at Joker several times as they rode along, wondering if it would be a good idea to attempt conversation, or to just flat out ask him what was wrong. But ever since he had grabbed her face earlier, Jayde had tried to keep her comments and playfulness with him to a minimum. She could still feel the places where his fingers had gripped tingling slightly, even after an entire hour and she was absolutely positive there would be bruises when she looked in the mirror…having olive toned skin had its disadvantages sometimes. Next to her, however, Joker was looking as stony as ever, scowling at the back of Dotcom's headrest as his knee bounced out of control. He was obviously thinking but Jayde didn't _dare _ask what about.

Before too long, the Escalade bounced into the driveway of the mansion before it came to a complete stop once inside the garage and all three of them immediately got out to go inside. Jayde moved to reach for her bags as she slid out of the leather seat, but glanced over at Joker as he grabbed them up, along with his one bag and carried them all inside for her. She grinned, rolling her eyes to herself as she walked around the truck to follow the two guys inside the house. It was moments like that, moments where Joker showed just a _tiny _bit of courtesy or even kindness, that made this little crush Jayde had on him all the more infuriating.

Once inside the door with it closed and locked behind them, Joker stepped over to the table, setting Jayde's bags down to sigh and slip out of his long black coat, draping it over the back of a chair. His eyes moved from the rest of the house to Jayde where he was just about to suggest that she come upstairs with him, only for her to walk past him briskly, pick up her bags and turn to Dotcom, grinning.

"Dotcom, would you come help me look at the tv in my room? Something with the cable isn't working right." she said in a ditsy sort of way, batting her eyelashes at him as he smirked and nodded, following her over to the stairs. He glanced at Joker as he went, shrugging his shoulders and Joker watched them go, his scowl now deepened into a full-on, somewhat disappointed frown.

Turning to the table again, he snatched the bag up with one hand, grabbing his coat with the other and marched over to the stairs once Jayde and Dotcom had disappeared into her room.

_So much for that…_ he thought rather bitterly to himself, and was slightly surprised to feel a little bit jealous that Jayde was in there showing the faggot nerd her new, fancy clothes and not taking them _off _for him. But then again, this was just another classic sign of that opportune moment approaching and once Joker recognized it for what it was, he backed off and shook his head a bit, laughing to no one but himself. Maybe that was the problem; maybe he and Jayde just needed to stay apart for a while…maybe they needed to just act like real friends and accomplices.

Down the hall in Jayde's room, Dotcom had just sat down on her bed, sighing as he took off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"Wow, some mood he's in today, huh?" he asked, finally looking as though he was relaxing after being in the car with the Joker for a good portion of the afternoon. Jayde shrugged, upending one of the bags to empty the clothes and other accessories onto the bed.

"Yeah, it's nothing new, though. I'm just giving him his space. He'll let me know when he's ready to be around me again." She answered as simply as she could although the absolute lack of irritation or care in her voice was a little bit alarming…Was she becoming accustomed to being treated like this?

A second later, she was beaming, pulling that turquoise dress from the pile of clothes to hold it up against her, laughing when Dotcom gasped, holding his hands up to his chin.

"Oh, wow…" he breathed, reaching out to feel the material. "This is gorgeous, Jayde. I love it."

She giggled, walking over to the bathroom to change into it and try it on. As she stripped down on the other side of the door, she answered, "I know! I think I'm going to wear it out when Audrey comes in." The slick material slid over her body and luckily, it fit like a glove and was just tight enough across the bust to cause a good amount of cleavage. Her finger poked at it as she giggled at imagining the look on Joker's face when he sees her in it for the first time.

Once the bathroom door opened, Jayde laughed when Dotcom gasped again loudly, clapping his hands to his mouth. "Jayde!" he exclaimed, looking her up and down in the dress. "You could seriously be a model! I mean…you're kinda short so maybe not, but…wow, your figure is just perfect for that dress, girl."

He walked over and Jayde had to refrain from reaching out and wrapping her arms around him to thank him for being such a good friend. Instead, she stood in front of the mirror, admiring her hourglass figure in the dress while Dotcom picked at random fibers and cut the tag out of the back for her, all the while thinking that even if she and Joker didn't end up working out as friends or anything else for that matter, at least she would still have a really good friend in Dotcom.

By the time Jayde and Dotcom had finished going through all of the clothes and heels she had bought, it was nearing six o'clock in the evening and both were beginning to feel their stomachs growling at them. Not long before then, they had both heard Tre come home but other than that, the house had been silent and Jayde could not help but wonder what Joker was doing. Dotcom talking about throwing something together for dinner as they left the room so Jayde took that as her opportunity to go find him and see, hope, pray that he was in a better mood.

Moving slowly and quietly down the hall, Jayde finally made it to the door of Joker's office and found that it was slightly open. It did not seem likely that he would be in there with the door open so after double checking that he was not inside, she moved on to pass Dotcom's room and reach Joker's, not surprised to find it completely shut. She paused mid-reach for the knob, wondering to herself if intruding on whatever he was doing was possibly the worst idea she'd had all day, but on second thought, she really wanted to know what he was up to and it seemed unlikely that he would lash out as bad as he had earlier… Then again, that may have just been wishful thinking on Jayde's part.

The door made no sound as she slowly opened it to reveal a completely dark room, entirely silent, save for a faint growling sound coming from over near Joker's bed. A silly grin crept onto her face when her eyes adjusted to the dark to show her the figure of the Joker, asleep on his stomach, his long, lanky legs and arms spread out to cover most of the bed. His hair was absolute chaos and Jayde had a feeling that whenever he woke up, he would have one nasty battle on his hands. As much as she hated the way he had treated her that morning and afternoon, as much as it absolutely rattled her when he grabbed her face earlier, Jayde could not pass the opportunity to wake him up and hear the way he sighed sleepily with that slight growl, see the way his brown eyes opened slowly to blink a few times. Most specially of all, she could not pass up an opportunity to catch the way he looked at her for the first few seconds after he woke up. The small lines just between his eyebrows would crease in a slight frown but then relax when his eyes focused to meet hers and then the tiniest of subtle smirks would sneak onto his face and wrinkle the corners of his eyes. That was the one thing she could not miss.

So once she had closed the door quietly behind her, amazed that the light spilling in hadn't woken him up, she crept over to the bed, bringing one knee up to pull herself onto it lightly. Crawling as carefully and gently as she could, she moved until she was sitting just next to his hips, facing him. Her hand reached out slowly until the tips of her fingers made contact with his back and she glided them down gently on top of the t-shirt he had changed into.

As soon as she had touched him, he took a deep breath, bringing in his arms until they were up against his body and he shivered involuntarily when Jayde took this as permission to slide her hand under his shirt to really scratch his back. The grin that slid onto her face pulled her cheeks back so hard it hurt…Finally, the Joker was at peace.

"Mmmm…." He groaned deeply, burying his face into his fluffy purple comforter and Jayde felt huge goosebumps rise all over his skin. She grinned widely to herself in the dark, thankful that he was not looking at her.

"Dotcom is making dinner. Are you hungry?" she asked in a quiet voice, sliding her nails up his back again once they had reached the lining of his boxers low on his back. Joker's face was still buried into the thick comforter and he moved his head back and forth a few times, scratching an itch on the tip of his nose.

"Yeah." He answered honestly in a very raspy voice and Jayde grinned, if possible, even harder.

"Well, it probably wont be done for a little while. So go back to sleep and I'll come get you when it's ready." She offered and took her hand away from his back once he had nodded an understanding. And by the time she had reached the door, the soft growling filled the room again.

Dotcom looked up from the stove as Jayde walked into the kitchen, a vague, residual smirk still rested on her features and he rolled his eyes when Jayde laughed, opening the fridge to take out a can of soda.

"What are you smirking at?" she asked him once she had hopped up onto the counter next to the stove. She inhaled a second later; whatever he was making smelled absolutely divine. Dotcom shook his head, pushing his glasses from his face up into the front of his hair once they started to steam up.

"You." He answered flatly, cocking one eyebrow. "Miss. 'I'm just going to leave him alone'." Jayde laughed again, smacking him on the shoulder, just before both of them glanced over their shoulders through the breakfast bar to the stairs, just to make sure.

"I just had a feeling he was asleep and…" she shrugged, swinging her feet awkwardly a few times. "…He's kinda cute when he sleeps." Dotcom turned to look at her after he had set the spoon down and one of his hands came to rest on his hip.

"Yeah, Jayde. And _lions _are also kinda cute when they sleep." He put simply, nodding slowly when Jayde said "Ooh, yeah. Good point."

The pasta sauce that Dotcom was making had just about reached the right consistency when they heard one door open and Tre appeared a few moments later, stretching his arms over his head, flexing his broad shoulders slightly. Dotcom looked away back to the stove rather quickly and Jayde grinned at him before hopping down off of the counter. Tre had obviously decided he needed a cigarette and was moving toward the sliding glass when the sound of another door opening broke the silence. Across the room, Dotcom glanced at Jayde and Jayde glanced at Tre as he looked back at both of them, and a second later, the Joker appeared on the top landing, rubbing one eye as the other gripped the railing.

As he opened his eyes, he seemed to sense that everyone was staring at him. His other hand came down to rest on the rail and he leaned forward slightly before shouting "WHAT?". The sound of his voice echoed in the house slightly and at first Jayde wasn't sure whether or not he was really angry or if he was just being loud. However, Tre laughed, tossing one hand at him as Joker now walked toward the stairs, reaching up to scratch at an itch under his mess of fuzzy, matted waves.

"You look like _shit_, bro." He commented, stepping just outside of the glass to light his cigarette, although a moment later, he exhaled his smoke into the house and Joker shook his head, pointing a finger at him.

"Ah, ah, Tre…Envy is one of the seven deadly." He began, his voice clowny and laced with sleepiness. "Just because you have dingle-berries for hair, doesn't mean you have to be so hateful."

Tre tossed his arm at them when Jayde and Dotcom burst out laughing and by now, Joker had made it into the kitchen and was reaching for a glass when he suddenly inhaled with a groan.

"And what _smells _so god damn good?" he asked, walking over to the stove to lean against Jayde's legs as she sat on the counter, peering down into the pot. Dotcom grinned proudly, turning off the burner.

"Romesco." He answered in a simple way although Jayde was positive that the sauce was anything but simple. She had been watching for almost a half hour as he put a pinch of just about everything into it. In an effort to ignore the way Joker was leaned against her, she cocked her head to the side, squinting at Dotcom.

"How did you learn to cook so well anyway?" she asked and Dotcom had just turned around from the cabinet to answer when Joker laughed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Oh, Dotcom was a chef at an upscale restaurant in Gotham when he was, ah-….abducted." he explained, sneering at Dotcom as he nodded at Jayde, rolling his eyes. "I just happened across him when I first moved here and found out about his immense talents with computers-…" Joker was about to go on but Dotcom cut over him, placing out plates on the counter.

"And it just so _happened _that I was good at cooking, too. Kinda lucked out on that one, huh?" he asked Joker, who nodded, chuckling as he walked away.

"_That's_ called getting two birds stoned at the same time, my friend."

Dinner, of course, was absolutely perfect and Jayde seemed to think she enjoyed that much more now that she knew about Dotcom's history. It made total sense that he would have had such an awesome career, only to be practically forced into working for the Joker. He didn't seem as though he did not enjoy his 'job' now, but Jayde could still sense a bit of nostalgia every time he cooked something.

The dishes were now in the washer and the kitchen was clean so Dotcom stepped out onto the patio for his cigarette, Tre disappeared into his room and Joker was just walking over to the stairs when Jayde stopped, half-way between the bottom step and the sliding glass doors. Joker was going up and as much as she wanted to go join him, Dotcom's words from earlier floated back into her brain and she sighed, turning left to go have a cigarette. A moment later, Joker's door closed and she shrugged to herself, figuring that he didn't really care and that she would go say goodnight to him in a little while.

An hour and a half later, after she and Dotcom had talked their way through three full conversations about totally unrelated subjects, when they both yawned in sequence. They laughed and Jayde was just stretching her arms when Dotcom stood up, taking off his glasses. He continued what he had been saying.

"I'm just telling you to play it safe with him sometimes." He said, opening the glass door as Jayde followed him inside. "If he's cranky, really leave him be. It's those times when he's particularly unpredictable. And I would really, really hate for something bad to happen between you two." He warned and Jayde nodded sleepily although she was not entirely listening. She was too busy wondering if he was awake or not and if she should gamble on going up there.

Once they had made it upstairs after locking all the doors, Dotcom said goodnight before disappearing into his room and Jayde was halfway to her own room when she turned on a dime. Walking now toward the Joker's room, Jayde had a slight gut instinct that she _might _not want to go in there, but she was incredibly good at ignoring it by now and continued on until she reached his door.

Again, it was not locked and she took that as a good sign. _I'm pretty sure if he hadn't wanted me to come in, he would have locked it. _She thought encouragingly and turned the knob all the way, opening the door just a crack to slip inside.

Upon first listening, she noticed that there was no soft growling noise in the room, nor even any sleepy, heavy breathing and at first, she considered leaving; it was a lot easier to approach the Joker in a dark room when he was asleep. A second later, a deep, fully awake voice broke the silence and Jayde jumped slightly.

"Well, come in." he growled so Jayde obeyed, walking over to the bed to lay on the exposed area on her side, facing him as he lay the same way facing her. She grinned at him in the dark and although she could just barely see his features in the dark, she noticed that he did not grin back, but simply watched her. He blinked once, placidly and Jayde reached out, letting her hand come to rest on top of his as it lay rested on the bed between them.

They lay there for several long moments, watching each other until Jayde lost her mind and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. Joker sighed against her, returning the kiss gently at first but Jayde had just moved closer to him to let her hand come to rest on his chest when he pulled away. His eyes were still closed when his fingers came to wrap around her wrist against his chest and he licked his lips, exhaling slowly.

"We can't do this anymore, Jayde." He said, his voice somewhat monotone and almost forced sounding. Jayde frowned, trying to pull her wrist away but Joker tightened his grip.

"Do _what_ anymore?" she asked and Joker growled slightly in frustration.

"_This, _Jayde." He answered shortly. "This, what we're doing right now. We can't do it anymore." Jayde finally pulled her hand away and scooted back, rising onto her elbow next to him as he lay on his back.

"Why not?" she asked, then practically cringed when she felt a little stupid for not wording it differently to sound less like a little girl.

"Be-_cause_, we agreed to be friends, best friends. And I may not be a real friendly person, Jayde, but I'm fairly sure 'best friends' don't fuck or kiss and lay all over each other." He explained and Jayde now sat up, absolutely disgusted to find that a lump had swelled up in her throat; why did she feel like he was breaking up with her?

"So…you don't want to have sex with me anymore…" she asked in an incredulous tone, growing angry quickly so she could postpone crying until she left the room. "And you don't want to kiss me or anything like that…" she asked again, flatly and Joker nodded.

"Right."

"Right." Jayde repeated him and a split second later had gotten up off the bed and was now walking to the door. She was not reacting strongly in any way until she made it outside, just so Joker wouldn't have the benefit of seeing how upset she felt. As she opened the door to step through, Joker's deep voice called out "Jayde" but she ignored it and closed the door behind her.

Inside his bedroom, Joker let out a loud aggravated groan as he sank back into his pillows with his hands over his face. That was definitely _not _how he had planned that conversation to go, and once again, he was proving to himself how useless 'plans' were. There was no way, no matter how well he thought he understood Jayde, that he could have predicted how she reacted. There was a calm, coolness about her reaction that left Joker laying there, exhausted but slightly apprehensive. But he was _far_ too tired to go chasing after her to explain himself so he turned over onto his stomach, groaning again.

If he wanted to just be friends, then they would _just _be friends. But Joker had a feeling that Jayde was _not _going to make this easy.

A/N: This story has far passed the 1,000 hits mark. But that makes me wonder why there are only seventeen reviews? C'mon, guys. It only takes a few seconds and it really helps keep us writers motivated to keep doin' what we do. So how about this- I would _really _appreciate at least five reviews on this chapter before I update again. Life outside of fanfiction is a little hectic for me right now and the reviews really help keep me wanting to write more. So be a dear and just leave me a little note telling me how much you liked or hated this chapter! I really do appreciate it. THANKS -QOM


	8. The Return of The Joker

When Jayde rolled over the following morning to bright sunlight filling her bedroom through the window, she was not surprised to find she was wide awake and already feeling angry. For a while, she lay there on her side, gazing out to the tree outside, watching a small chickadee bounce between two branches, singing happily. For a moment or two, she wanted to go open the window and tell it to shut the fuck up, she was trying to be pissed in there. But on second thought, the window ledge was fitted with razor wire and the frame with a strong electric shocking device…The bird kept singing, for now.

The night before, when she had made it to her room, she could remember crawling into the bed, trying extremely hard not to start crying. It just seemed incredibly childish at the time to be so upset that the _Joker,_ of all people, would not be kissing her anymore, nor hugging her and that their more intimate times had come to an end. But after only a few minutes, she had given in and lay in the dark, quietly sniffling to herself until she fell asleep sometime around midnight.

Surprisingly, she slept all the way through the night, but now that she was awake, she was feeling extravagantly cranky and the thought of going downstairs and seeing Joker seemed punishment. She wanted to get out of the house and was not sure if he would let her, but then again…she didn't really care. After rising from the bed determinedly, Jayde put some jeans and a long-sleeved shirt on and moved toward the door to step out into the hallway.

At first, she tried really hard not to look out over the first floor for Joker but when she reached the stairs, it grew more difficult and she gave in, glancing around. She sighed a second later when the living room and kitchen appeared empty and had just walked to the porch to join Dotcom when she heard muffled male voices on the other side of the garage door. One of them definitely belonged to Joker, and the other presumably Tre but instead of walking over to go out and find them, she ignored it, rolling her eyes as she stepped outside.

Dotcom glanced up with a smile but a moment later, he must have noticed the expression on Jayde's face and he frowned, sliding his pack of cigarettes across the table toward her. She murmured 'thanks' before lighting one and only once she had exhaled did he ask, "Alright, so what's wrong? You look like someone just kicked your puppy."

Jayde grunted a laugh, glancing down at the cigarette in between her fingers. "Oh, nothing." She answered at first, but once she noticed the incredulous look on Dotcom's face, she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Joker told me last night that he wants us to just be 'friends'. I guess he doesn't want to kiss and be all cute with each other anymore." She finally explained and Dotcom nodded slowly.

"Ah, so that means no more-…"

"Yep."

Dotcom sighed, ashing his cigarette on the ground. "Well, at least you guys can have a somewhat normal, um-…'friendship' now. You have to admit he was confusing the hell out of you with all those mood swings." Jayde nodded, but then looked up, her features set and determined.

"I want to get out of the house today. Do you want to go get lunch in the city?" she asked abruptly, putting on puppy eyes when Dotcom sighed, looking over at her. He shrugged a second later, putting out his cigarette.

"I do, but I don't want to catch any shit from Joker either. If he says it's fine, then we'll go." He answered but Jayde shook her head, standing from the table.

"No, I don't want to talk to him unless I absolutely have to. Let's just go." She paused when Dotcom hesitated to get up and she sighed, hanging her head slightly. "Please, I'll tell him it was my idea. I just want to get away from here today." She went on to say and after a few long moments, Dotcom stood up from his chair, stretching his arms before tugging his fingers through a few of his messy morning curls.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you. He's probably going to say no."

They had both stepped inside and Dotcom declared that he was going upstairs to change his clothes and get ready so once he had disappeared, Jayde walked over to the garage door. She paused before opening it, taking a deep, steadying breath to calm her nerves. Their voices were still coming through the wood of the door so after readying herself for an argument, she opened it and stepped outside, one hand on her hip. There was no smile nor even a smirk on her face.

Joker and Tre both looked up at the sound of the door but Tre immediately looked back to the car upon spotting her. Jayde glanced at him before shifting her gaze to Joker, who of course, was still staring at her with narrowed eyes. She raised her eyebrows.

"Dotcom and I want to go to lunch in the city." She spat in such a direct tone that Tre looked up again from the truck, glancing at her before he looked at Joker as if bracing for his reaction. However, when Jayde had expected him to stalk over and threaten her or flat-out tell her no, her jaw nearly fell open when he shrugged, turning his back to her to continue tightening the bolt he had been working on.

"Fine. Just don't do anything stupid." He answered, his voice at it's usual raspy, somewhat disinterested tone. Luckily, he had his back to her, giving him a perfect opportunity to roll his eyes generously; of course, she was going to act like a child about his recent decision. The door closed behind her as she disappeared and Tre let out a breath as though he had been holding it, just as Joker straightened up, taking a white rag from his back pocket to wipe his hands on it. He looked over at Tre when he noticed him watching. "_What?"_ he snapped irritably and Tre shrugged, moving back to the front of the truck.

"What you mean, _what._ What the hell happened?" he asked, again showing off to Joker that he was still his best friend and was not afraid to dig a little deeper into the personal goings on in the house. Joker sighed, shaking his head fervently a few times as his hair whipped him in the sides of the face.

"Nothing, man. Forget about it." He answered quickly but a second later, felt like shooting himself in the foot for showing Tre that whatever happened had obviously affected him. Tre scoffed in disbelief, walking over to light a cigarette and lean against the workbench along the back wall.

"You may be able to lie to everyone else, but you've never been able to lie to me, _Kieron_." Tre said, but then paused when Joker straightened up, looking over at him with a heavy glare. Tre rolled his eyes, waving his hand at him impatiently. "And don't try that 'I'm the Joker' shit on me, bro, it wont work. Now tell a nigga what happened."

Finally, Joker dropped the 'act' and walked over, plopping down onto the rolling stool. "Nothing really _happened_..." He began, pulling the thick, t-shirt material headband from the front of his hair to readjust it. "We just had a conversation that didn't really go as planned…" His voice trailed off as he looked out past the open garage door to the driveway outside, but when he didn't sense Tre reacting, he looked back to find him still staring at him expectantly.

"_And?" _he asked, holding out his hand with a raised eyebrow, tilting his head toward Joker. "What was the conversation?"

Joker laughed once, dryly, his broad shoulders shrugging. "I told her we can't fuck around anymore." He answered with a half-smirk, rolling his eyes at Tre before looking away with a shake of his head. He was in the middle of hoping he wouldn't be forced to explain _why, _when Tre's jaw went slack in surprise.

"Oh…damn_._" He commented off-handedly at first, pausing for a few moments and only once his brain had wrapped around what Joker had decided to do, did he go on. "_Damn, _dude. Are you fuckin' insane?" he then asked rather loudly. Joker nodded immediately, now watching a squirrel gnaw on an acorn in the driveway.

"Yes," he answered. "Yes, I am."

Silence fell over the garage as Tre finished his cigarette, meanwhile Joker was busy chewing on his bottom lip, staring off distractedly with his arms crossed over his chest. The fingers of his left hand were drumming on his right side but he barely noticed he was doing it until he stopped when the garage door swung open and Jayde stepped out briskly, chattering noisily to who he assumed was Audrey on the phone. Dotcom followed suit shortly after, catching Joker's eye as he walked past them. He raised his eyebrows, shrugging at Joker as if to explain that this had not been his idea and that he should not be held responsible in the event something happened. At this point, Joker was beyond caring and simply gave Dotcom a small nod as if to say 'Just look out for her'.

With both of them now in the car, Joker could not help himself but to stare directly at Jayde through the windshield as she continued to flap her gums, a tiny smirk pulling at his scars. He knew it would make her uncomfortable and confused but once she noticed him watching, Joker's smirk faded quickly when she rolled her eyes heavily, turning slightly to grab the seatbelt. _Uh, I don't think so…_ he thought and was just about to rise from the stool to go have Dotcom roll down the passenger side window when Tre's hand swung out, hitting him across the shoulder. With Joker now distracted, Tre waved at them as they backed out, grinning with a fake smile. He turned to Joker once they had gone.

"Ki, chill out. She's just mad." He instructed, standing up from leaned against the bench to walk back over to the truck. When Kieron continued to glare off into the space where the Escalade had been, Tre shouted his name, pushing him hard so he stumbled. "Forget about it! Watch, I bet when they get back she wont be mad anymore."

Joker took a deep breath, bringing his fingers together to crack his knuckles as he exhaled heavily, shaking his head. "You know how I am about people rollin' their eyes at me, Tre." He said defensively and Tre nodded, tossing him a wrench.

"Yeah, I know, Ki."

Five miles down the road, Jayde had just hung up the phone and was grinning to herself when Dotcom glanced over, scrunching his nose to push his glasses up slightly.

"So she's still coming?" he asked, smiling when Jayde nodded.

"Yeah, on March first. She wants to go get her hair done that day and go out that night, in case you couldn't hear her. " she answered, laughing to herself as Dotcom shook his head.

"And this is your best friend?" he asked a moment later. When Jayde nodded, he went on. "And Joker has met her?" She rolled her eyes, turning her head to look out the passenger window.

"Yeah, he thinks she's cute and annoying apparently." Dotcom grunted a laugh.

"Well, Joker thinks_ you're _ cute and annoying." He said lightly and Jayde laughed sarcastically, shaking her head.

"Not so much the cute, maybe definitely the annoying part." She replied bitterly but Dotcom scoffed loudly, glancing over from the street as they bounced from the interstate to the city ramp.

"Jayde, please. If Joker didn't think you're just about the hottest thing he's ever lay hands on, you probably wouldn't still be around." He commented, but then continued when Jayde showed signs of cutting in. "_And_, I think you have a real opportunity here, Jayde. Joker just cut himself off from you, do you have any idea how hard that is for a guy to do that?" Her mouth opened again, but he went on again, louder. "And he _is _ a guy. He may not be completely normal but he's still a man underneath all that crazy. He's just as horny as the rest of them." When he finished, he noticed Jayde was now watching him with one eyebrow cocked and a slight smirk on her face. "Trust me, I may be gay, but I know how straight men operate."

"What opportunity are you talking about, though? He doesn't even want to touch me." she asked and Dotcom shook his head, holding up a finger.

"It's not that he doesn't _want _ to. It's that he _can't_, now." He explained. "If there's one thing Joker wont do, it's break his own rules. I know he goes on about having no rules and all that. Blah, blah, blah…He does have rules, but only for himself." He paused to see if Jayde had caught on yet, but she was still staring at him blankly so he continued. "So what you have to do is get under his skin. Make him regret his decision." By now, Jayde was finally nodding, slowly.

"So you're saying I should…"

"Seduce him, baby. He's a _man. _Walk with a little more a dip and speak a little softer to him and he'll be butter." Dotcom said with a grin, shrugging one shoulder. Still, Jayde was nodding slowly.

"So you're saying I shouldseduce…the Joker…" she repeated, arching an eyebrow at him. "Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like a horrible idea?"

Dotcom nodded. "Yes, you are. It's only a bad idea if he realizes what you're doing. Gotta be subtle, girl. Don't go sitting on his lap or throwing out huge hints. Just do…ya know, little things to catch his attention." He suggested but paused when Jayde shrugged, nodding to herself. "I just think it would be hugely rewarding to see Joker get beaten at his own game."

Minutes later, Jayde and Dotcom pulled up outside a small bistro toward the middle of Gotham and had just gotten out to put a few quarters in the meter when they both heard a squeal and whipped around quickly. Jayde's stomach had dropped to her ankles but Dotcom was now squealing too and trotting over with his arms out toward a stocky, presumably gay man about his same height. They kissed each other on the cheek before separating and Jayde walked over, grinning as they began hurling compliments at each other about what they were wearing.

"Oh!" Dotcom finally noticed her standing there and he trotted over, linking his arm with hers to pull her along with him. "Oscar, this is Jayde. Jayde, my friend Oscar."

"Hi! Lovely to meet you!" he said. "Please! Join us! We just sat down. Our waiter hasn't even come yet."

Jayde glanced at Dotcom as Oscar walked back to a table of guys and she smiled when he shrugged and stepped over to her.

"If you don't wanna-…" he began but she shook her head, patting his arm.

"No, no, I don't wanna talk about…you-know-who. It's perfect." She answered honestly so she followed Dotcom over to the table of gay guys, who all greeted him the same way.

"Ohmigod! Andrew! How are yew?"

Twenty miles west of them, Joker was returning to the garage after sneaking upstairs to get his phone…he wasn't really sure why. Tre was seated across the room at the workbench, flipping through a car magazine when he approached, setting the phone down on the wooden counter with a sigh as they both instinctively looked over at the large black truck across the garage. Neither spoke for several minutes, just gazing rather dazedly out into space when Joker looked to Tre who met eyes with him and they both smirked.

"Ever wish you could make that thing indestructible?" Joker asked suddenly, his eyes lighting. Tre sat up.

"Yeah." He answered, walking over to the truck to reach out and place his hand on the hood. Joker's scars were practically touching his ears as he grinned.

"So let's do it." When Tre rolled his eyes, turning away, Joker walked over to stand on the other side of the truck, running his hand along the curve of the metal door, looking for seams. "It wouldn't be _that _ hard, just need-…" he was more talking to himself than anyone but apparently, Tre was listening.

"Roughly ten grand for bullet proof glass and steel, new tires, undercarriage-…" he immediately rebutted, ticking off fingers as he went, but it was Joker's turn to interrupt although he didn't need to say anything. He was shaking his head back and forth slowly, with his eyes closed. Tre stopped and raised his eyebrows, waiting for Joker to speak, and only once he had rested his elbows on the hood of the car did he bounce his eyebrows once, cocking his head to the side.

"Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy." He bragged, and motioned toward the phone across the garage with his head. "I can get all that stuff for about a thousand, do both the truck-…" he smacked his hands down on the roof of the car with a bang. "-and the Cadillac. _And _ get help for installing it."

A long pause followed Joker's explanation while Tre thought about it, and Joker knew that Tre wasn't exactly the most trusting person and that he tended to doubt the goodness in others. Then again, Joker was the same way. But instead of being an idiot and simply trusting in the kindness of others, Joker thrived on the evil in people, their greed and selfishness to get what he wanted. Offering fellow criminals money soothed their avarice, but when that no longer became enough, he often appealed to their selfishness and threatened to take the most precious thing to them; their life.

However, ever since his previous, first attempt at bringing Gotham to the ground, he noticed that people were starting to assist him without any threats _or _money. '_Probably since I'm such a charming chap.'_ He thought jokingly to himself and was just grinning at that thought when Tre nodded.

"Arigh', we'll do it. But these guys better be solid, man. I'm not goin' down and neither are you." He threatened, lighting a cigarette while Joker walked to the workbench to retrieve his phone. With an unworried frown on his face, he waved his hand impatiently at Tre while he dialed.

"Please, man. You don't know about Gotham P.D." he said, rolling his eyes. "Biggest, sorriest bunch of bumbling little girls...Couldn't hit the broad side of a-…Oh, _hello¸ _Matt."

It came as no surprise to Jayde that she, Dotcom and a lot of his friends had all ended up at the same posh café in downtown Gotham and the poached salmon that came with her salad was absolutely delicious. With most of them now done eating, everyone was laughing rather loudly at a story told by one of his friends, Devon, and Jayde had just picked up her glass to take a sip when Oscar pointed at her.

"Ugh, see, Delano?" he asked one of the other guys across the table. "See how her lips pucker like that? _That's _how I want mine." The other guy nodded, and now everyone at the table was staring at her. She laughed awkwardly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as the guys launched into a discussion on plastic surgery and lip injections and she felt a small stab of ache when she remembered Joker telling her seemingly ages ago how pretty her lips were, followed shortly by how 'interesting' he thought it would be to see them sewn shut. A second later, she bounced back and jumped back into the story that Delano was now telling about his sister but glanced at Dotcom when she noticed him frowning at her. He had caught her thinking about the Joker. '_Damnit._'

Another half hour passed, full of laughter and chit chat and a few of the guys were starting to talk about going shopping at a new designer outfitters just up the street. Dotcom didn't seem too interested and Jayde certainly did not feel the need to go and they were just about to express this to everyone else when a phone began ringing just next to her and Dotcom fumbled for it in his pocket. Jayde watched him as he pulled it from his sweater only to glance at the caller ID and sigh. It read 'Boss'. He shoved the phone to her as though it were going to bite him.

"Here, I think that's for you." He said, grinning, then turned to face his friends again, leaving Jayde to stammer momentarily.

She really did not want to talk to him and could only imagine that he was just calling to say something mean or ask them what they were doing and if they had done anything 'stupid' yet. But failing to answer his call would probably be a lot worse than just answering, so after a nervous glance from Dotcom, she picked it up.

"Hello." She said flatly, leaning back in the seat when Joker's raspy, clowny voice came through the other end.

"Oh, _hello…_" he growled, and Jayde could practically hear him grinning into the phone. "What a…_delightful_ surprise. Are you girls having the uh-…time of your lives?" he then asked nastily, but before he could go on, Jayde rolled her eyes, pressing her finger to the red button to end the call. Her hand nearly slammed Dotcom's expensive phone down on the table but she almost picked it back up to call him back and pretend like she had lost reception and that she hadn't _actually _just hung up on him. But some of that bitterness from the night before was still clinging to her so she turned the phone on silent before handing it back to Dotcom. He didn't seem to notice what she had done.

Joker's eyebrows were practically meeting in the middle of his forehead as the line went dead and for the first few seconds, he pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the screen only for the small words 'Call Ended' to blink at him. A low, deep bubbling sensation started in the very pit of his stomach as anger threatened to overtake him but he took a deep breath and closed his eyes while he gently set the phone down on the counter behind him and he was going to be needing it a lot soon. It was all he could do to keep from crushing the damn thing in his bare hand. Joker would be willing to bet on his life that Jayde immediately regretted it, the second she had pushed that 'end' button, but that hadn't stopped her. She had just hung up on him and as Joker trotted over to the stairs to go up into his office, he left the phone on the kitchen counter, deciding he would just wait until they returned to the mansion to give Jayde a little lesson on phone etiquette.

By the time Joker finally stood up from the desk on the far side of his office, the sun was starting to go down and a knot in the middle of his back had begun to form from the way he had been sitting. A low, extended groan escaped him as he stretched his hands up over his head as far as they could go, the tips of this fingers just barely scraping the ceiling. His back gave a few satisfying pops and at first, he wasn't sure if it had been the sound of his bones cracking or the distant, faint squeak of the garage door opening. A second later, his ears picked up the sound of voices coming from downstairs, one belonging distinctly to a female and a prickle of that anger he had felt earlier returned to the back of his neck and the pit of his stomach.

He stood there for several moments, completely still, listening to noises from the first floor drifting up through the walls. The voices had faded, which made him think that they had possibly gone outside so he strode across the room determinedly to the door only to fling it open and jump slightly. There was Jayde, her fist raised as though she had just been about to knock and she laughed somewhat nervously at first, lowering her hand slowly.

"Um," she started, glancing up at his face to find it completely devoid of expression. In fact, he looked a little mad as he stood there, now crossing his arms over his chest, looking straight down at her. Jayde always felt shorter than usual standing near him but it was times like this when she felt truly small. She glanced behind her, over the balcony to the bottom floor to see if Dotcom had gone outside, but he was still in the kitchen so she went on with her voice lower. "Can I come in?" she asked with a somewhat sheepish smile.

At first, Joker did not react and continued to glare down at her until he raised his eyes from hers to a spot over her head as he backed into the room, pushing the door open with his back until it met the wall. His eyes followed Jayde as she walked in, but only once he had shut the door behind them did she take a deep breath, linking her fingers together.

"I um," she stammered at first. "I just wanted to apologize…to you." She finally got out, shrugging her shoulders a little bit. "It wasn't fair of me to be a bitch when you decided…what you decided. So…I'm sorry."

Jayde took a pause, giving Joker the opportunity to blink a few times, honestly a little thrown off by her intentions. How many times does the Joker get apologized to? And he was just trying to think of the last time someone had said the words 'I'm sorry' to him when Jayde went on.

"I've had time to think about it and I agree with you. I think things were starting to get really confusing and it will probably be better for both of us if we just…be friends."

By now, Joker was leaned against his metal surgical table and had unfolded his arms to rest his hands on either side of his hips. He was still quiet, not exactly sure what to make of this newfound attitude from Jayde. On one hand, she could be lying just so he wouldn't punish her for hanging up on him and acting like such a little _cunt_ all morning, or on the other, she could be genuinely sorry for how she behaved. There was only one way to find out.

"Are you just saying that?" he asked, his voice low and rather quiet as he squinted at her with his head cocked to one side.

Jayde smiled, again noticing one of the Joker's more honest moments. She shook her head, taking a step closer to him. "If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it."

It was so unlike him to not know what to say, and for a second, he just considered blurting out anything to fill the silence. But a moment later, Jayde took another step forward until she was close enough to wrap her arms around his middle and she hugged him lightly, though only for a moment or two before she stepped back, smiling at him. Joker cursed mentally as he looked away. There was just another perfect example at how well Jayde had gotten to know him. She must have known how uncomfortable the thought of verbally accepting her apology was making him feel so she did something like _that_ to ease his discomfort. He sincerely regretted letting himself get so open around her…she was starting to read his mind. '_Not a good sign…'_

Finally, Joker found his voice and cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly as Jayde stepped away from him, toward the door, apparently assuming that he had silently excused her. But a moment later, he caught up with her, bringing up his left arm to place it around her shoulders and lean on her slightly as they continued to the door.

"So, tell me, Jayde…" he began, glancing down at her as they stepped out into the hallway. He opened his hand on the other side of her face as his wrist rested on her shoulder. "Any plans tonight?" he asked in a somewhat casual way, even though Jayde was aware that he knew perfectly well she did not. Jayde turned her head to look up at him with a slight roll of her eyes. He grinned. "Oh, good."

By now, they had reached the door to his bedroom and were just stepping inside when it dawned on Jayde what he was going for. She walked forward a few steps into his room to turn and face him with her arms folded over her chest. Joker stopped mid-step and froze, his eyebrows raised at Jayde as if waiting for it.

"You want me to dye your hair green." She stated and Joker unfroze, dropping his foot to the ground with a thud and an insulted expression on his face.

"Blimey, Jayde." He said over his shoulder as he turned to walk into his closet. "I didn't know you were _psychic._" When he emerged with the white bag from the day before, Jayde crossed her arms, staring at him defiantly.

"What if I say no?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as Joker walked toward her to tower over her. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling for a second while he thought, then shrugged.

"_Well, _if you say no…Then realistically, tonight, at dinner, I'll put roofies in your drink. Then once you drift off to sleep halfway up the stairs, I will shave your head bald." He paused, nodding as he leaned down slightly. "And that is not a joke."

Jayde believed him.

Twenty minutes later, Jayde and Joker found themselves in his bathroom, Jayde doubled over laughing as she watched him try to yank a comb through his thick mess of waves. Apparently, it had been a little while since the last time he brushed it and as he growled in aggravation and slight pain, he took his hand away from his hair with a defeated sigh. The comb stayed in place, stuck in a huge knot and Jayde poked out her bottom lip at him as he glared at her.

"It's _not _funny." He snapped, now standing from the chair to get closer to the mirror. Jayde giggled when he reached up to start trying to comb again and she pulled on his arm, moving him back to sit down on the chair.

"It's a _little _funny, Joker." She replied, removing the comb from his matted hair to gently start pulling apart the knot. He cringed, sliding his eyes shut and his shoulders tensed slightly when she got a good amount of it separated. "Maybe you should brush it more than once a week."

"Maybe you should shut the fuck up more than once a week, hm?" he snapped back but squirmed forcefully, nearly sliding out of the chair onto the floor when Jayde ripped the comb through the knot. A loud groan escaped him as he brought his hand to the top of his head, feeling under his hair to his scalp before looking at his fingers as if checking to see if she drew blood. When he was satisfied that his hair was still attached to his head, he snatched the comb from Jayde with a stern glare and proceeded to finish the job himself.

Jayde took a seat on the bathroom counter across from him again and once he was finished brushing it, his blonde, wavy, curly hair stuck out so severely, it was beginning to look more like an afro. She laughed, moving to the side so he could see himself in the mirror. Of course, he merely grinned widely with a wink at his reflection and suddenly, Jayde gasped, pointing at him.

"You have dimples!" she cried. Joker's grin faded quickly to a frown.

"No, I don't." he answered hastily but it was too late. She had crossed the bathroom to him and was now poking him in the cheek as if that would make him smile again.

"Yes, you do! Smile!" she commanded and for several long seconds, Joker glared up at her defiantly, but finally, he slowly grinned a fake smile, closing his eyes when Jayde reached out to grab his face. Sure enough, both cheeks held a dimple with his smile, although it was fairly hard to notice, what with the deep scars on either side of his mouth. It was just about the cutest thing she had ever seen and was just about to tell him that when she remembered their newest agreement to keep the romantic sentiments to an absolute minimum. That, and she had a feeling he already knew how cute his boyish dimples were…

"Wow, the Joker has dimples." She murmured, releasing his face when he handed her a bottle of green hair dye and crossed his arms over his stomach to slouch slightly on the chair.

"Yeah, I got 'em somewhere else too, wanna see those?"

Another half hour passed and Jayde could swear there was more green dye on her than there was on Joker. But luckily, he had given her an old t-shirt of his so her pretty white top had not been ruined. Now he was rising from the rolling chair to crack his back and remove his undershirt before he seemingly noticed what he was doing. He gasped, bringing his discarded shirt up to cover his exposed chest and point at the bathroom door.

"Out!" he said and Jayde went willingly, but paused in the door way as he followed to close it behind her.

"Can I wait out here? I want to see it when you get out." she asked, throwing him a pleading smile and he rolled his eyes, pointing at his bed.

"Fine. Sit there. And try not to _touch _anything…" he instructed, scrunching his nose as he wiggled his fingers at the rest of his room and the bathroom door clicked behind him. Jayde sighed with a smile as she lay back on his bed, tucking her hands up under her head as a pillow. Maybe this whole 'just friends' thing wouldn't be so bad after all…maybe he actually _was _ kind of fun to be around…

The water had begun running on the other side of the door and for several minutes, Jayde found herself reminiscing upon the last time she lay there while Joker rinsed green dye from his hair. It seemed like years ago now, so much had happened since then. She could very clearly remember what had happened when he emerged from his shower that last time, and guiltily, she couldn't help but wish that same scenario could play out in the present, but Joker seemed pretty set in his decision…so far.

It was not long, however, before Jayde heard the water shut off on the other side off the bathroom door and the shower curtain slid across the railing with a loud 'shing'. A faint, smelling steam had begun to issue from underneath the door and when it opened a few moments later, she took a deep breath as she sat up, only for Joker to walk past her, clutching a towel around his hips. She leaned forward slightly to inhale the steam that billowed after him and as much as she didn't want to look over, a part of her could not resist so she glanced at him as he leaned down, pulling a few articles of clothing from his dresser. His back was tensed slightly, showing off that dip that ran down the middle of it between his muscles, from between his shoulder blades to the top of his towel. She looked away a second later, biting down on her bottom lip.

Her nose told her that Joker had walked past her again and the bathroom door closed but only momentarily, until he had put on some clothes. It opened again and when Jayde entered, she found Joker at the mirror, rubbing his previously discarded towel over his now violently acid green curls, absorbing the extra water. The towel landed on the chair behind them as he dropped it to replace it with the comb and once he had combed out his mess of damp waves, he shook his head hard, sending his hair flying into a suitable, messy style with most of it in his face. Jayde was grinning and so was Joker; she could practically hear his smirk as he admired the green color in the mirror through the curtain of hair in front of his eyes. She wanted to tell him how good it looked and how truly nobody but him could wear green hair and pull it off, but she was positive he already knew that.

As he stood there, staring at his reflection, his chest and shoulders seemed to swell slightly with something that Jayde could only identify as either pride or insane excitement…or possibly both. It felt as though the whole bathroom were now humming slightly with some sort of malicious, overpowering energy and Jayde quickly reached up to rub her forearm when goosebumps broke out all over her skin. A second later, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end when he started laughing, quietly at first until it built into a much louder, cackling laugh and his hand smacked the mirror over his face one time. It seemed that with his hair green, he felt a lot more like himself and a lot less like…Kieron.

It seemed, at last, the Joker had returned.

A/N- Alright! So you guys are awesome! I got six reviews the first day I posted that last chapter, so that was excellent! The story is pretty much starting from here, guys, so if you're not on board for a long one, turn back now. So how about another five reviews for the next chapter! It's already in the works, but I need some motivation to keep it going! So leave me a note with your love/hate. And yeah…mister Joker has returned. I bet you guys are stoked. I know I am…- QoM

OH! And I have NEW pictures of my characters (Jayde, of course Joker, Dotcom ect.) and thanks to ClownQween'69 (she is my Dotcom) for her magical computer-ing skills, I have pictures of Jayde and Joker together, so if you would like to see them, send me an email. Lovely x lady 389 at gmail. com


	9. Hallucinations

A week came and went slowly, but things at the 'Joker residence' were everything but uneventful. The last licks of winter had disappeared over the past ten days, leaving the weather in Gotham and it's surrounding towns warmer and beautifully sunny. It seemed that, like the weather, the energy at the house had become much lighter and warmer, even though half of the time lately, Joker was either on the phone or up in his office with Tre and Dotcom. It even seemed that Officer Linman was over more often than he had ever been so far and although he was always pleasant with her, always said hello, Jayde was starting to feel as though Joker had told everyone not to mention anything to her about what was now obviously being planned.

She was starting to feel left out, so one night, nearly ten days after dying Joker's hair green and spending countless hours alone in the house, the four guys had just come downstairs after several hours of being locked up in the office when Jayde stood up from the couch with her hands on her hips. Tre and Dotcom were walking toward the porch, Linman toward the kitchen counter for his gun and Joker was trotting down the stairs behind them, a smug grin on his face. As he passed her, he did a slight double-take and frowned, pausing mid-step.

"What's _your _problem?" he asked rather rudely, now placing his own hands on his hips, mimicking the way she was standing. His head cocked to the side when Jayde stammered for a few seconds, obviously very flustered. By now, the other three guys had turned and were watching her struggle to find words.

"Well, I feel sort of left out, if you must know." She finally admitted, crossing her arms indignantly with her nose in the air a little. Joker blinked once, immediately moving to copy her new pose and he huffed sarcastically, tossing a bit of his hair from his face.

"Do tell." He requested, glancing over at Tre and Dotcom to nod as though they should be as excited as he was to hear what she had to say. When he looked back to Jayde, she was trying hard not to grin and several long moments passed before she answered.

"Well, you guys have been upstairs for hours every day for like a week now!" she cried, tossing her arms. "And I've been down here all by myself, just wondering what's going on and…I think I deserve to know what you're planning!" Her chest heaved slightly as she took a deep breath after her miniature rant. Joker raised his eyebrows at her before turning to glance at Tre and Dotcom again. He shrugged.

"Guys? I'm not planning anything, am I?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as they both shrugged in return and he turned back to Jayde when they stepped outside a second later, murmuring between them and laughing under their breath. Jayde gritted her teeth as her eyes squinted at him. Joker simply smiled, walking over to place his arm around her shoulders and tug her closer forcefully until she was right up against his side, tightly. She cringed trying to push herself away from him, but he was too strong and just held on tighter.

"Don't worry, Jayde." He said in a very assuring, fake tone. "You're not getting left out of anything. _Trust_ me. Now, say goodnight to the police man." he then told her in a voice that suggested Jayde was either three years old, or severely mentally retarded. She looked up at Officer Linman with a blank expression on her face as Joker had walked her right up to him at the garage door. When she did not move or say goodnight like he told her to, Joker reached down, picking up her wrist to move her hand up and down like a parent would to an infant. "Goodnight, police man." he said for her, in a clowny, high-pitched voice and Jayde rolled her eyes at Officer Linman as he laughed and turned to leave. The moment the door closed behind him, Joker breathed a wheezy laugh when Jayde pushed him away from her playfully and stomped over to the sliding glass doors to go join Dotcom and Tre, who by now were halfway through their cigarettes.

That night, Jayde had just turned off the tv and was rising from the couch with a groan to arch her back when Joker rounded the corner into the living room with a glass of water. She brought her arms down quickly, bringing her shirt with them but it was too late; his eyes had glanced quickly at her exposed midriff and he looked away a second later, clearing his throat casually.

"Going to bed?" she asked rather loudly in a bad effort to cover up the previous occurrence and to her surprise, instead of calling her out on it, Joker nodded, proceeding to the stairs as she followed him.

"Yep." He answered as he paused, allowing her to go ahead of him up the stairs. Jayde smiled at him as she went ahead and obviously had mistaken the gesture for courtesy, meanwhile Joker was now trying not to stare at her hips as they rocked from side to side in his face. A second later, he looked straight up at the ceiling when he felt an achy throb from one of the lower areas of his anatomy.

Jayde reached the top just a moment before he did and she turned to face him, leaning against the railing to tilt her head to the side and put on her best puppy eyes, relaxing her lips so they puckered just a little more than usual. "You _still _wont tell me what you're planning, huh…" she asked, grinning when Joker shook his head, smirking down at her.

"No way, kiddo." He answered, turning to walk down to his room, but he paused after a few steps and turned to find Jayde still standing there, watching him go with that annoying grin on her face. His hand raised to point a finger at her and he cocked one eyebrow. "But I will say that tomorrow is gonna be a big day." Jayde gasped as he laughed over his shoulder, turning to continue on his way down to his bedroom.

"Please tell me!" she cried after him but he simply waved one hand over his shoulder lazily as he turned the corner.

"Good_niiight." _

Surprisingly, Jayde woke abruptly the next morning to sounds reaching her room from what seemed like all the way down in the garage. She could hear muffled voices coming from some unknown origin but the longer she lay there, she began to realize that they were not coming from the garage, but from outside of her window. Rising from the bed quickly, Jayde felt like a little girl on the first day of snow when she ran to the window, pressing her nose to it. A grin slowly tugged on her lips when she found the source of the noise; finally things were starting to happen

Down on the street in front of the mansion's gated driveway, a huge semi-truck sat, rumbling faintly and two men that she did not recognize were getting out to open the back hatch of the enormous vehicle. Joker and Tre had just walked out into the gravel driveway and were walking over to the taller of the two strange men, reaching out to shake his hand as they approached. Jayde watched as Joker laughed, bouncing on the balls of his feet a few times; he looked the most excited she had seen him in…ever.

After prying herself away from the window, Jayde threw on some clothes and started out into the hallway to find Dotcom just coming out of his room, yawning. Despite the rather excited buzz to the atmosphere in the house, Dotcom seemed perfectly groggy and shrugged at her when he noticed Jayde frowning at him.

"Stayed up late." he explained.

Downstairs, Dotcom walked over toward the porch for a smoke but Jayde was far too curious and excited to find out what was happening outside so she continued to the garage door to step out. The sound of the semi truck was much louder on the other side of the door and was now accompanied by a low whirring, mechanical noise of the lift going down. Her hand came up to shield her eyes from the sun as she approached Joker and Tre.

"What's going on?" she asked animatedly but frowned a second later when Joker laughed, glancing at Tre.

"I said ten, you said twenty." He said to Tre, who groaned with a roll of his eyes as he slapped a twenty dollar bill into Joker's outstretched hand. "Hello, Jayde." He finally greeted her, not bothering to take his eyes off the huge sheets of metal now being unloaded from the monstrous truck. "Tre and I were just having a wager on how long it would be before you came out and started asking questions." He glanced down at her, bouncing his eyebrows. "I won."

She rolled her eyes and was about to just go back inside and give up on being included when Joker took a deep breath, turning from the truck to face her. "I'm having the truck and the Escalade fitted with all bulletproof material." He explained, but paused when Jayde's eyebrows slowly started to raise. Her next question was immediately obvious to him, so he answered it before she could open her mouth. "Because I wanted to." He stated bluntly. "And besides, who doesn't want a bulletproof car? Better yet, who doesn't want _two _of them?" he then went on to ask, more of Tre than Jayde and she sighed, rolling her eyes again as she turned to walk back up to the house.

"Boys…"

Dotcom had just come back inside from the porch when she stepped in from the garage and raised her eyebrows at him as he looked over.

"Did you know they were doing that to the cars?" she asked, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb at the garage door. When he nodded with a grin, she whined, stomping slightly as she walked over to join him on his way up the stairs. "See, I knew something was going on. I wonder why he doesn't tell me stuff." She asked with a slight pout as they reached the top of the stairs and Dotcom rolled his eyes, turning to her.

"Because he says he likes to divulge things to you in private, whatever the hell _that _means." He answered, but then paused, frowning slightly as something dawned on him. "Ya know, maybe he tells us first to double check that it's a good plan before he tells you. Like a rehearsal…I think it's so he doesn't make himself look stupid and like he doesn't have it together in front of you...Hm."

Jayde's jaw had gone slightly slack trying to keep up with his reasoning but Dotcom was now shrugging as he turned to walk down to his room. He paused halfway down the hall and turned to her again. "Any cute mechanics out there?"

"Eh, kinda." She answered, grinning when Dotcom nodded an understanding and disappeared into his room. Once he had gone, her grin faded rapidly into a frown. If he had asked about the mechanics outside and was going to change his clothes, then Joker was probably expecting him outside helping with the cars…which meant she was destined to be inside by herself…all day…again.

The thought of that was not even the slightest bit tempting and after quickly debating on whether or not it would be a bad idea to go ask Joker if she could help, she trotted down the stairs to cross the house and go out. The sound of birds chirping immediately met her ears, telling her that someone had obviously shut the semi off and now she could hear voices coming from the end of the long driveway.

As she rounded the corner toward the noise, random pieces of sample questions shot through her mind while she tried to imagine the best way to ask him. '_Hey, I don't wanna be bored all day again so…can I help you guys?" _This one sounded horribly pathetic to her and she was just in the process of thinking up a new one when Joker spotted her and turned to walk up the driveway toward her, smirking. His arm reached out as he came within closer distance but just when Jayde was about to hope he was going to drape it around her shoulders like he had been doing more often lately, he instead raised his elbow to rest it on top of her head as they continued to walk.

"So I have a job for you." He said, looking down at her. Jayde's heart leapt a little as she smacked his arm off her head, grinning.

"Really? What is it?" she asked a little too excitedly than she had meant to and felt like a huge idiot when Joker's smirk expanded slightly.

"I need you to take the Escalade and go pick up one of my minions in the city." He explained a second later, but poked his bottom lip out when Jayde's face fell dramatically.

"What? That's not a fun job at all." She whined and Joker shook his head, raising his eyebrows as he leaned down slightly.

"Well, you don't really have a choice, _ma'am_." He answered, sliding his hand in his pocket to produce a set of keys belonging to the Escalade. "So uh…_Go_."

Jayde was halfway to the SUV when she suddenly realized she had no idea where she was supposed to pick up this 'minion' but she figured Joker would not let her leave without specific instructions so she waited until she had backed out of the garage to ask. But of course, the truck had just about reached him when she noticed him start to walk over and he moved one finger up and down a few times for her roll the window down.

"Drive _carefully._" He said at first, resting both arms on the door of the Escalade to lean slightly. "I cant afford to have you get pulled over, ya hear me? Alright, now…"

After Joker had seemingly given her enough instructions to fill a dictionary, Jayde was finally pulling out of the driveway, slowly and carefully maneuvering the huge black SUV past the small junk yard of metal sheeting and glass. The two men she didn't know were standing at the back of the semi-truck, just out of view from the lawn where Joker stood and Jayde had to fight to not roll her eyes as they both stopped what they were doing to turn fully and watch her through the windshield as she passed. _Typical guys_, she thought, shaking her head once the truck had made it out onto the street. Over the years, since she had turned seventeen, Jayde had noticed the increasing amount of stares she got seemingly wherever she went, from all different kinds of men. At first, she had found it fairly creepy and it often times made her incredibly uncomfortable being stared at like that, but the older she got, the more annoyed she grew with it. Now, she just ignored it whenever possible, but it never failed to humor her when she caught a guy staring…Unless it was the Joker. Then, it became a whole array of emotions at once- excitement, a small flush of arousal and maybe even a tiny bit of fear.

Then again, all of that had ended rather abruptly but Jayde was somewhat surprised to find that she wasn't really upset about it anymore. The past week had been somewhat fun without having to worry about things with him and there was a definite difference in the way they had been treating each other. Jayde felt she had done an excellent job of forgetting about the way he used to kiss her and about how sweet he could be when they were absolutely alone. Now, they could actually enjoy each others company…sometimes.

The ride to the city seemed shorter than usual, which was somewhat disappointing to Jayde, as the weather was simply beautiful that day and soon the lush green trees began to give way to concrete and noise. Joker had told her back at the house that she should not take the usual exit to enter the city but instead stay on the interstate for another few miles until the one after, so she obeyed his instructions and waited to slip into the far right lane to exit.

Joker had also said something about a gas station on a corner near some public library, but he had given her so much information that his steps were starting to become jumbled in her memory. A slight sense of panic began to work itself up in her and Jayde was in the middle of praying to god that she would not have to call him to have him repeat it when she suddenly gasped upon spotting the Lucky Green convenience store and gas station up ahead on the right.

His directions from this point were easy. All he had told her to do was park along the far side of the store and that a younger guy wearing a red shirt would come up and get in the passenger seat after ten minutes; his name was supposed to be Matt. But as Jayde parked the car in the shade where Joker had told her to, a weird feeling began to flutter in the pit of her stomach. If she didn't know better, it almost felt as though she were being set up and that this 'Matt' person was about to rob her or worse…She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, convincing herself that she was just being paranoid and that she was about 82% sure that Joker would not do that to her.

Ten minutes later, exactly, Jayde jumped when the passenger door opened and a tall, younger guy in a red t-shirt got in, smelling a little like sweat and cigarettes. Jayde was about to put the car in gear when she felt him glance over at her and she did the same, figuring she might as well double check.

"You're Matt?"

"You're Jayde?"

Once she had said yes, the guy nodded, leaning back against the seat to exhale heavily.

"Cool."

There really was no more awkward a situation than being in a car alone with someone you didn't know, Jayde was realizing as she pulled back onto the interstate and she was just about to reach over and turn on the radio when 'Matt' finally spoke up, turning slightly to look at her.

"So, what're you, the Joker's girlfriend?" he asked rather abruptly and Jayde was so thrown off by his question that she laughed loudly, glancing over at him from the road.

"No, not at all." She answered, still laughing to herself as Matt nodded. "We're just friends." She then added a second later, just to see how weird it felt leaving her mouth. It was Matt's turn to laugh.

"That guy has _friends?" _

The Escalade had just bounced into the driveway back at the mansion when Jayde noticed that all of the sheets of metal, glass and tires had vanished from the lawn and now part of it was being ushered into the garage while the other half stayed out in the driveway. At first, Jayde could not see Joker and hated herself for looking for him first, but Tre was smoking a cigarette while he talked to the two guys. He glanced over when the truck approached, then held up his hand for her to stop before entering the garage and he walked over to her door as she stopped the car.

"Ki wants to start on this one first." He explained in his deep voice once she had opened the door and he reached inside to pop the hood, just as Joker appeared coming from the garage, tying his swamp green hair up into a small ponytail.

"Matt, how nice of you to join us." He growled with that raspy voice in his falsely polite manner. "I'm sure you and my lovely assistant Jayde had just _heaps _of interesting conversation…" he mocked, grinning at Jayde as she made eye contact with Matt to roll her eyes as she passed him into the garage. Over her shoulder, she heard him say "What an angel, huh?"

Most of that day, Jayde floated in and out of the house, spending a little time out in the garage, watching the guys completely dismantle the Escalade, before she would find herself back inside, watching TV. As bored as she was, after watching the guys struggle in certain areas to take apart the metal frame of the car, she did not find the thought of helping them at all alluring so she stayed clear for the most part, hanging back in the garage to sit on the tailgate of Tre's truck and watch intently. At first, she had hesitated in doing this, knowing that Joker did not particularly enjoy being watched, but to her mild surprise, he either didn't seem to mind or was ignoring her. Then again, she had a feeling he was little too preoccupied to even notice that she was outside.

Finally that evening, the sun had just gone down when Joker stood up from leaned against the Escalade's door to bring his forearm up and wipe a bit of misty sweat from his forehead. His neck, shoulders and back were somewhat killing him and as he walked over to Tre, he rolled his head from side to side, groaning when he felt it crack a few times. Tre nodded an understanding, handing him a cigarette as they watched the other four guys pull the Escalade into the garage.

"Yeah, man, I feel ya." He commented on Joker appearing a little sore. "We haven't done anything like this in a while. Kinda makes you realize how much older we are now." Joker tutted, frowning indifferently.

"Speak for yourself." He answered, leaning against the black truck to exhale the smoke in his lungs. "I feel great." When Tre looked over at him with one eyebrow arched and a disbelieving expression, Joker shrugged, grinning out at the driveway. "But I am probably going to need a little shoulder rub from my…_assistant._"

Once everything had been put away and the driveway was clear again, the sound of thousands of crickets in the dense forest behind the house's backyard began to fill the air and Joker called out to the three guys.

"Go home and be back here tomorrow to finish it." He said simply, grateful that he did not need to go on as the guys instantly understood and walked down the driveway to disappear in their semi. Dotcom had already gone inside and was presumably in the shower as he could hear the water flowing through the plumbing of the house while he and Tre walked through the garage to step inside.

The television in the living room was on. Joker could hear it as he stepped inside and it wasn't long before he noticed Jayde laying there on her side, watching it, apparently unaware that her shirt has risen several inches, exposing that damn dip in her side that he so often admired. True, he had been really good about keeping his word to himself and had not touched her anywhere below the neck for near on ten days, but that did not mean that she was any less of a fox to him. Tearing his eyes away from the curve of her side, he walked around the edge of the couch, plopping down in front of where she lay, only to turn and grab her free hand to place it on his shoulder.

He waited for several moments but when she did not move, he turned again, frowning at her when she slowly pulled her eyes from the television to narrow them at him. For several seconds, they glared at each other, Joker's eyes beginning to squint slightly in his scowl but finally Jayde decided he was serious and sat up with an exasperated sigh.

A second later, Joker groaned deeply, letting his head fall forward when Jayde began digging into his achy shoulders with her thumbs and a massive fit of sudden goosebumps caused him to shiver unexpectedly. Jayde must have noticed as he heard her laugh through her nose to herself but he didn't care and was beyond trying not to react. It felt fucking _good. _

After a few minutes, the goosebumps had almost gone away, along with many of the knots in his muscles when Jayde's hands moved from his shoulders down onto his upper arms where she squeezed, then relaxed, squeezed, then relaxed in a slow, soothing rhythm and Joker fought off another moan by biting down on his bottom lip hard. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. _

He was just in the process of focusing his mind elsewhere and had almost given his attention completely to the TV when he felt Jayde stop with his arms and reach up to pull the hair tie from his small ponytail. A moment later, all ten of her fingernails raked up under his hair against his scalp from the back of his neck and Joker shuddered hard, his knee immediately starting to bounce. Behind him, Jayde laughed quietly, leaning to the side as she gently kneaded the back of his neck with her fingertips.

"Feel good?" she then asked in a painfully soft voice right in his ear and Joker cringed, sliding his eyes closed when he felt himself react to her tone. Whether or not she had meant to do it, he wasn't sure but Joker was starting to realize quickly that this hadn't been one of his best ideas lately. He needed to get away from her, fast.

Another low groan escaped him and he leaned forward slightly, tilting his head back to rock it to each side and crack his neck a few times. Jayde let go of him but was now watching the tv absentmindedly, so Joker took advantage of the situation and stood up, stretching with yawn that he did not need to fake. He glanced down at Jayde when she lazily pulled her eyes from the television to grin up at him and she blinked sleepily a few times.

"Goin' to bed?" she asked but Joker turned abruptly and walked away toward the stairs. Since when did her voice sound like that? All soft and sultry…_She's just tired._ He thought fleetingly before turning his head to look down at her as he climbed the stairs.

"It appears that way, Jayde." His clowny voice called over his shoulder and Jayde frowned to herself when he continued on down the hall until she heard the distant sound of his bedroom door closing. _Weird…_

Upstairs, on the other side of Joker's door, he stood with his back against it, staring at the knife stuck in the far wall of his bedroom, without really seeing it. His mind was too busy replaying everything that had just happened to think quite properly and only once his eyes started burning did he realize he was forgetting to blink. Truly, just fifteen minutes before, he had seen absolutely no issue in asking his _friend _to rub his shoulders for him since he was quite incapable of doing it himself but reflecting back from now, he could not believe how stupid he had been. He could have guessed that her touch would have done that to him, easy, and could not imagine what possibly possessed him to attempt it in the first place.

The past week had gone almost perfectly, save for one small bicker between them, and if he were being honest with himself, he would admit that the past ten days or so had been kind of _fun._ Granted, he had been upstairs with Tre and the others a lot of the time, but when not locked in the office working on his latest shenanigans, it came as such a relief to be able to sit around and annoy Jayde. He just had to tighten up and try to forget about the way her nails had felt raking up the back of his neck like that…

When Jayde rolled over the next morning, the first thing that popped into her mind was not wondering what everyone was doing, or even what was going on downstairs, but that she _really _needed to do some laundry. Over the past two, almost three weeks, she had worn nearly everything she owned and was about to put on her last clean pair of underwear once she got up. Fortunately, laundry detergent had been one of the things she had gotten at the store when she went before and knew exactly where she had stored it in the laundry room. So without further ado, she got up and went over to her closet to try and find one last clean outfit to wear while she washed her clothes.

However, upon looking, she was disappointed to find that every pair of pants she owned were dirty and pretty much the only thing she had left to wear was a somewhat short denim mini-skirt and a dark green v-neck top with elbow length sleeves. She never wore these two articles of clothing for a reason but after searching for another ten minutes and finding only an old pair of ugly sweatpants, she decided the skirt and top was better than that so she put them on before scooping all of her dirty clothes into one of the large black duffle bags sitting in the back of the closet.

The bag was incredibly heavy once she zipped it up so instead of trying to carry it and breaking her neck, she pulled it to the stairs before pushing it down, watching it tumble to the bottom with an amused grin. She followed suit shortly, listening for noises to indicate where everyone was. But of course, once she approached the kitchen and garage door, the sound of voices and a loud drill on the other side gave her the answer.

The detergent was exactly where she left it and after heaving most of her dark clothes into the washer, she set it to run and left the room, deciding that it would probably be interesting to go see what the boys were doing for a little while. The sound of the drill grew louder as she opened the door and she grinned when Joker and Tre both looked over at her. Her smile fell when he noticed them glance at each other and smirk before going back to what they were doing. Jayde rolled her eyes; it had to be because of her skirt. She was just about to go back inside to put on the sweatpants when Dotcom walked away from the Escalade, pulling his pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and he held it up, raising his eyebrows at her, so she went over to join him.

"Morning," he greeted her with a friendly smile and Jayde took a cigarette from him, lighting it as she took a seat on the tailgate of Tre's truck under the shade of the garage.

"Morning," she answered, looking over at the seemingly destroyed Escalade, now laying in scattered pieces all over the driveway. "What are you guys doing now?"

Dotcom took a deep breath, then exhaled the smoke. "Well, we have to take all the old metal off temporarily so we can fit the frame with the bulletproof metal. We're almost done with that. Next we gotta take the old glass out and-…" Jayde was trying to listen but was finding herself incredibly distracted when her tall, slightly sweaty friend came around the back of the Escalade, wiping a bit of grease from his neck with the bottom of his black tank top undershirt. He had it raised to his neck, slightly hunched as he leaned over but as hard as she tried to look away, his momentarily visible stomach muscles were hard to miss.

Joker did not notice her staring at first so she continued and was just cocking her head to side slowly when she felt Dotcom smack her lightly on the arm. She jumped looking over at him but rolled her eyes with a grin when he mouthed the word 'stop'.

Although she could no longer see his stomach, Jayde was so busy admiring the slight glistening mist of sweat on his shoulders and upper arms that she failed to notice that Joker was walking toward her. Seconds later, she blinked a few times when he walked past her, his eyes trained on something mounted to the wall on the other side of the truck. At first, Jayde was not sure where he was going, but when he walked past her again, she noticed a metal baseball bat in his hands.

Completely intrigued now, Jayde watched with interest while Joker walked over to the frame of the Cadillac, pulled himself up onto the old hood and moments later, both she and Dotcom jumped when he swung the baseball bat hard at the windshield, shattering it into a million tiny pieces with a loud 'CRACK'.

As he jumped down from the frame, Tre tossed his hand at Joker. "Damn, man!" he shouted. "What are you-…" His voice was drowned out by the sound of more glass breaking when Joker swung again, this time at the driver's window, shattering it too. Joker did not respond to Tre but instead turned to where Jayde and Dotcom were sitting, grinning widely as he held the bat out.

"Jayde?"

She did not need to think twice about it and in two seconds had crossed the driveway to take the bat from him, gripping it with two hands. Joker smirked as he watched her take aim at the large rear window and he backed up to stand next to Tre, crossing his arms over his chest with a somewhat proud grin when she swung it back only to bring it forward in the strongest swing she could muster. A second later, the glass shattered but stayed in place, held there by the dark tinted film and Jayde looked over at Joker somewhat disappointedly. He smirked in return, glancing at Tre as he stepped forward to take the bat from her.

"It needed to come out anyway."

Again, as was becoming routine at the house, the boys spent most of the sunlight hours outside working on the car and normally, Jayde would have been moping around, wandering inside and out, but that day, thankfully, she had her laundry to keep her busy. It was not surprising that it took her nearly all day to complete it and was transferring the last load of white clothes into the dryer just as the sun dipped below the tree line, dousing the huge house in evening shadows. She had just reached for a pair of jeans to fold when the garage door opened just outside the laundry room and Joker and Tre stepped inside.

From where she was standing, Jayde could smell the sweat and dirt on them and wrinkled her nose slightly when Joker stepped into the doorway, taking his hair tie out to shake down his hair. He watched her fold for a few seconds before stepping into the room. Jayde looked up, glancing him up and down once before turning back to her folding. Joker noticed this but did not comment.

"Ya _know…_I've got a few things to wash…while you're at it." He remarked finally with a snide grin and Jayde laughed, shaking her head.

"Hell no. This took me all day." She replied, now picking up a pair of underwear to fold them. At the moment, Joker had a couple different responses floating around in his brain but he was currently too busy staring at the black, lacy boy cut underwear in her hands, wondering if he had ever seen those before. He could not remember it, but then again…he hadn't seen her undressed in over a week…they might have been something new…

Quite suddenly, and he wasn't really sure how it happened, a flashback or vision of some kind flew into his mind and he had just reached down to the bottom of her skirt to let two fingers glide up the inside of her thighs, all the way to the place they met…he bet it was warm and more than likely covered by a very thin piece of material. His brain showed him another quick image of Jayde pressed up against the washing machine before he blinked several times, turning his head away to shake it slightly. _I am losing it…_

Jayde was speaking but her voice sounded somewhat muffled, as if through a radio, for just a second before it cleared up.

"-Now go away." She was saying, reaching out to push him away carefully with one finger. "You stink." Joker frowned down at her, recovering quickly from…whatever had just happened to him.

"Fine." He said, turning to leave, although he was quite glad to be getting away from her. "See if I don't go up to your room and rub my stink all over your pillows, hm? See if I don't go up and-…" his voice followed him as he rounded the corner and Jayde rolled her eyes once he had gone.

It wasn't long before all of her clothes had been folded and now Jayde was left with the unforeseen dilemma of getting it all upstairs without unfolding it or making ten trips up and down the stairs. So after evaluating the situation for a few minutes, she decided it would be easiest to just scoop as much of it up into her arms as neatly as possible and carry it upstairs quickly.

This was easier said than done and just when she was about halfway up the stairs, random articles of clothing began falling from the pile and she swore loudly several times while she ran to her room, finally dropping the clothes back onto her bed. Unfortunately, most of the previously folded clothes were now not even remotely neat anymore so Jayde stayed to tidy them back up before going to fetch the few things that had fallen on the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, nearly everything was put away. Her jeans were now folded in the dresser drawers, her undergarments, tops and shirts now hanging in the closet and Jayde was just about to go and get the others when she jumped. The Joker was standing in her doorway, twirling a very skimpy thong of hers around his index finger. His scars stretched in a Cheshire cat-like grin that wrinkled the corners of his eyes.

"Missing something?" he asked, now dangling the thong from his finger. _You have no idea…_Jayde thought, now noticing how clean he looked. She stepped closer and realized why- he had shaved.

Her own scar twitched slightly in her smirk as she reached out to snatch the thong from him, wadding it up quickly to tuck it in her back pocket. She had been ready to give some sort of smart-ass remark but was caught slightly off-guard when she caught a wave of that subtle cologne he wore and could only manage a weak 'thanks'. Joker must have noticed this as his smirk expanded.

"I assume I smell better." He stated, watching with a full-on grin now as Jayde blushed vaguely. She played it off a second later, shrugging with a half roll of her eyes when she turned her back to him to walk back over to the bed.

"I guess so, I mean it's not saying much since-…" she was saying, but when she turned to look at him again, her voice stopped short and a frown jumped to her face. He was gone.

The following morning when Joker trotted down the stairs, he was somewhat surprised to find that Tre and Dotcom were both up before him and were outside smoking, chit-chatting. As cute as he thought _that_ was and as tempting as it was to go make fun of Tre, a glass of freezing cold orange juice sounded even more alluring so he made for the kitchen, cracking his neck with a groan as he went.

The previous night had not been very kind to him…It seemed that the vision he had in the laundry room carried over to his unconscious mind and he had woken several times in the night, either burning alive or with a massive, inconvenient hard-on. But even after he had taken care of the…problem at around three in the morning, he found it incredibly hard to go back to sleep, even though in his dreams, he was fucking Jayde cross-eyed and she was _loving _it. Come to think of it, that may have been the reason he was hesitant to go back to sleep…

Standing at the fridge now, he felt somewhat sleepy but knew that there was still so much work to be done on the trucks and that the three guys would be there before too long to get started again. A long sigh heaved his chest after he had drained the glass and his forehead met the cool stainless steel of the refrigerator door as his eyes closed. He could feel all of the tension from not sleeping well floating around his body and was just on the brink of nodding off standing right there against the fridge with the door open, when Tre's voice came out of nowhere. Joker jumped with such force that Tre started as well, frowning at him as he sighed, running a flustered hand through his hair.

"Damn, bro. You alright?" he asked, watching Kieron's face as he shook his head roughly, blinking a few times.

"Yeah. What did you ask me?" Joker asked in response, walking over toward the dining room table after refilling his glass. Tre followed and they were both sitting down when Tre was about to re-ask the question, but he stopped short when the sound of a door opening upstairs broke the silence.

Tre immediately turned to glance up at the second story, but Joker hesitated at first, not wanting to lay eyes on her this early in the morning after such an eventful night's sleep. But a second later, Joker heard Tre murmur 'damn…' under his breath…so of course, he had to look.

Jayde had already made it to the top of the stairs when Joker glanced over and was walking down toward them, rubbing one eye sleepily while her other hand slid along the railing. Come to find out, it wasn't what she was doing that made Tre react, it was what she was _wearing…_or wasn't wearing_. _Joker looked away quickly but the image was burned into his mind already of the way her hipbones moved with each stair she descended. Apparently, she had been experiencing the same sort of hot flashes in the night that he had and was now making her way over to the kitchen in a very thin pair of baggy white pajama pants that sat extremely low on her hips, exposing all of that wonderfully long, curvaceous torso of hers and those perfect hipbones. If that wasn't enough, she had obviously fallen asleep in a tight sports bra of some sort that hugged her breasts to her chest, causing all sorts of cleavage that had _no _business being there.

She did not seem to notice Tre laughing at Joker as he buried his eyes in his hands with his elbows on the table until she had passed into the kitchen. Even then, he kept his head down until he heard the soft shuffling of the extra long pant legs of her pajamas dragging on the floor. When she passed them the second time to go back up with her new glass of ice water, Joker couldn't help but look up and now he and Tre watched the back side of her retreating figure as she climbed the stairs. Joker could almost swear she was rocking those hips a little more than usual.

Once she had disappeared back into her room, Joker let out a heavy breath as though he had been holding it and across from him, Tre looked over, raising his eyebrows.

"So…since _you're _not hittin' it anymore…"

"No." Joker immediately answered, shaking his head. "If _I'm_ not having that, _nobody's _having that."

**A/N: Kids, I feel like I ought to warn you. The next chapter or two could end up being fairly…adult. And when I say adult, I mean somewhat graphic. And when I say somewhat graphic, I mean don't say I didn't warn you. There may be some things that you might not be a fan of reading so proceed with caution. SEND ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEW CHAPTER.**

**-QOM**


	10. Message from QOM: Read ASAP

Hello, boys and gals! Just a few notes.

I've noticed that it appears that some readers of this story are under the impression that nothing is happening, therefore this story is not going anywhere. I'd like to explain the 'lack of action' as one reader put it in a private message to me. I am a huge fan of a good setup to a story and allowing the readers to get to know the characters a little before throwing everyone into deep situations. It gives the reader a better chance to become slightly attached to the characters, giving a greater affect when something does happen in the story. So if you feel as though this sequel is starting out kind of slow, that's because it is. I AM DOING THIS ON PURPOSE. While I do appreciate everyone reading and sticking with it, I wanted to share with everyone a little insight into the workings of this story. Really, the next few chapters are going to be intense so I promise, your waiting will be _well _worth it. Like I said, it's going to be a long story, so if you're not on board, turn back now.

Secondly, REVIEWS. I would really _love_ some, even on these 'set up' chapters. I cannot express to you, and those of you who write on this website understand, how important and helpful reviews are. Even if it has to come to me in an email or private message, I LOVE your feedback, even if you have to write and tell me what a failure I am and how much you f*cking hate my story. (just brace yourself for my reply, if that's the case) So please, ladies and gems, I am about two paragraphs from finishing this next chapter, and this is the chapter that sets the whole snowball effect in motion with this story. Consider this the BIG BANG, the…catalyst. But, unfortunately, I don't want to post it until I'm absolutely positive that people are enjoying this sequel as much as The Sweetest Vice and will not post until I've gotten at _least _five reviews, love or hate. I appreciate you guys to the hundredth degree, I just ask that you show me some lovin' (or hatin') and I'll be getting the new chapter to you guys within the next two days….but remember, five reviews or no new chapter. = ]

I thank you from the bottomest bottom of my heart.

-Queen of Mean-


	11. Caught

A sharp headache had begun to form behind the Joker's left eye and a low pounding noise in his ear was beginning to gain intensity as he stood at the edge of the garage with his arms folded over his chest, glaring at nothing. The sun was particularly bright that day so he squinted slightly out at the driveway as he leaned against the new and improved Escalade, although it looked the same as it ever did- big and solid black, with dark limo-tinted windows and chrome, modest rims. However, the Cadillac now carried a complete inner shell of bulletproof metal and all the glass had been refitted with thick, impenetrable plastic. Pride flowed through Joker's veins like fire as he stood next to the first tank in his arsenal.

Now Tre's huge truck lay in pieces in the middle of the driveway and the three stooges he had 'hired' were having a rather heated discussion about how best to line the bed. Joker's eyes shifted over to them slowly. He definitely didn't care what they were saying but that their voices were recognizably the source of his newborn headache. Arguing wasn't going to solve any problems but he did know of _one_ thing that would…_No, not yet_...

He sighed through his nose instead, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, wondering if it was safe to go inside yet. When he had come downstairs to go outside, Jayde had been laying on her stomach along the couch but he had continued quickly on his way _without _pausing to take a long look at the two dimples on her lower back, just above the line of her low-rise jeans. This was somewhat of an improvement from a day or two before when he and Tre had sat across the room from her for almost twenty minutes, watching her absentmindedly eat ice cream with a very long spoon. Joker grinned to himself, remembering the disgusted look Dotcom had thrown them when he came downstairs to find them practically drooling on themselves.

However, over the past few days, Joker had been relatively good about avoiding close contact with Jayde although admittedly, he was somewhat obvious about it at times. Before ending their mushy gushy times, Joker would often enjoy watching her come down the stairs toward him. He couldn't really explain why but there was just something so sexy about it. But recently, if he was in the house when he heard that door open in the morning or late at night, he had developed a habit of finding a spot high up on the wall and staring at it until she had left the room or went upstairs. Tre was usually near by to laugh at him.

Luckily, after several days of giving her a wide berth and countless hours of training his mind to not think of anything remotely sexual involving Jayde, Joker felt as though he were finally recovering from some sort of mental illness. His dreams had even gone back to normal…Well, normal for him, at least.

It had been so unlike him not to be able to have power over himself and his mind and it was very rare that he completely lose control, which was partly why having visions and dreams about Jayde rattled him so. He knew it was time to really reign it back in and go a little further to…tighten security tenfold in his daily goings-on. She was a _girl, _for Christ's sake, not some evil entity that gained brain control if he got too close. Once he convinced himself of this, it became easier to just forget about her and the way her thighs didn't completely touch when she stood up straight.

Joker's teeth clenched together tightly and he ground them hard for a few seconds when Matt's increasingly irritating voice raised momentarily from over by the truck, pulling him from his thoughts. It seemed as though he had been gone, mentally, for several minutes but had now returned to find his hired idiots still bickering pointlessly. A low, irritated growl threatened to escape him but a second later, a voice caused him to look over quickly with a slight jump.

"Wow, they're kinda annoying, huh?" Jayde asked, glancing up at him as he scowled down at her after glancing around.

"Jesus, Jayde. Where the fuck did you come from?" he asked rudely and Jayde made a face of disgust up at him.

"Damn, well, it's nice to see you too." She replied, rolling her eyes. Silence descended between them when Joker did not respond, both now distracted by watching the three guys argue amongst themselves. A somewhat disappointed sigh escaped Joker when he stood to his full height from leaned against the Escalade and Jayde glanced up at him, but did not speak when he walked away, into the garage and then into the house. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly. Joker was still acting a little strange around her and for near on a week now, Jayde had been trying to figure out why. Of course, upon asking him, Dotcom had answered that he thought Joker was starting to slip in his decision and maybe regretting it a little, but Jayde knew better than to ever believe that was true. Joker was just being himself around her now, moody and elusive, avoiding eye contact with her most of the time. By now, Jayde had come to accept it as the way things were just going to work from then on but could not think every once in a while about the way he used to look at her…and the way he used to kiss her. Hell, she would even give a lot for him to just touch her in any way at this point.

The guys were still arguing but Jayde was beginning to notice that they were finally making some headway and it seemed as though, after listening momentarily that they had just decided to pack up the truck for the time being and figure it out a different way. Matt, the tallest of the three disappeared into the driver's seat of the huge truck and started it, inching it forward slowly until it moved into place, just next to the Escalade inside the garage.

Jayde had moved out of the way but now found herself awfully close to these people she did not know. Joker was still inside and a strange sense of awkwardness overcame her when the two guys she did not even know the names of walked past her at the back ends of the two large vehicles. They paid her no attention however, and were now back out in the driveway, about to continue their conversation when Jayde decided it would probably just be better to disappear inside now; it did not seem as though Joker was returning.

She had just turned to start walking between the two trucks when the garage door opened again, surprisingly, and Joker stepped out briskly, tucking something into the back of his jeans as he went. The hood of the truck was rather high, hiding the bottom half of Joker from the waist down until he came around the edge of it and Jayde was just about to turn to ask where he had gone when she noticed the outline in the back of his shirt. She paused for him to reach the edge of the trucks before walking over slowly to crouch down, out of sight from the other three guys. It seemed her heart had gone into overdrive within the past few seconds and she was now slightly breathless as she watched Joker stalk out into the driveway.

It all happened so quickly- both Matt and the younger of the two guys were shot first at near point blank range in the back of the head as they had been the two standing with their backs to the Joker. However, the third guy had spotted Joker drawing his gun from behind his back and had taken off running down the driveway…Unfortunately, Joker was an excellent marksman. One loud bang later, the younger of the two strangers was shot in the back, fell face forward into the gravel at the end of the driveway and he moved no more. Joker took a deep breath in before exhaling heavily with a groan in a way that Jayde had only heard him do right after he came and pulled out of her to lay down.

Out in the driveway, Joker was now walking down toward the end to grab the third guy's ankles and drag him up the gravel until he joined the other two bodies, giggling quietly to himself as he went. At some point, Tre had come rushing outside and was now pushing past Jayde as she remained somewhat frozen to the side of the Escalade.

"Damn, Ki!" he shouted, looking up from the corpses to Joker who wiped his hand down his face, smearing the tiny droplets of blood along his skin, now grinning wide enough for his scars to touch his ears.

"What?" he barked suddenly at Tre. "They wouldn't _shut up_ and they already showed us how to finish the truck so…I put 'em down." With a shrug, he went on, stepping over Matt's body to walk over to the garage. "Plus, besides you, me, Jayde, Dotcom and Linman, no one knows where this place is…and I plan on keeping it that way, see?"

Hours later, the three bodies had been disposed of in the graveyard he had created in the wide field behind the house, and Joker now found himself upstairs in his office, once he had showered and changed into comfortable clothes. That headache from earlier had miraculously disappeared the moment he pulled the trigger the first time but his eyes were now beginning to ache from the fine print he had been reading for the past hour. He groaned as he closed them, bringing up two fingers to rub them deeply.

Upon opening them a few moments later, his gaze fell onto the calendar just next to his computer screen and for several long seconds, he stared at that day's date- February 28th. For some reason, he could remember something significant about this day but could not place his finger on what it had been. A confused frown melted onto his face as he sat there, staring at the small white box labeled '28' for nearly a full minute before he suddenly remembered- February 28th was the day before March 1st…the day Audrey was supposed to be coming to town. A sly grin took the place of the confused frown as Joker wondered whether even Jayde had remembered.

After reaching out for his phone, Joker leaned back in the swiveling chair to flip through the small black notebook he had taken from the drawer and after finding the name titled 'Maggie', he dialed the number below it. Pressing it to his ear, Joker waited for several long seconds while it rang and rang until finally a thick New-Yorker type accent answered on the other end.

"Hello?"

Joker's scars stretched in a wily grin as he crossed one ankle over his knee. "Ah, yes, Maggie. I was just flipping through my list of beautiful women and I just happened across your name…" he practically sang in a very charming, smooth voice and that grin turned into a laugh when the older woman on the other end of the phone squealed.

"Jay-baby! How ya been, sweetie pie?" she asked loudly and Joker rolled his eyes, picking up a random pen lying on the desk to twirl it between his fingers.

"Can't complain." He answered. "Been missin' _you, _though, Mags. Thanks for that green dye you saved me, by the way."

She squealed again, obviously thrilled with Joker's charming abilities. "Oh! You know I'm always here to help ya, Jay." She answered finally and Joker nodded; he was getting where he needed to go now.

"Of course you are, Maggie-May, which is why I have a _tiny _favor to ask of you…"

Jayde groaned irritably at her reflection the following morning, dropping her arms to her sides in defeat when her mass of tight curls refused to stay back in the pins she was using. Her hair was being exceedingly stubborn that morning since she had unwisely decided to fall asleep with it wet the night before and was now paying richly for her laziness. After five attempts to pin it back with no avail, she gave up, huffing exasperatedly to herself as she left the bathroom to get dressed.

Nearly an hour earlier, she had woken abruptly to several loud bangs, that despite their distance, still managed to rattle the whole house and she had rolled her eyes as she turned onto her back; apparently, Joker and Tre were doing something that required them to be up at eight o'clock in the morning making tremendous noise. So she had risen from the bed groggily to go brush her teeth and that was when she noticed her hair. So after finding a thick, t-shirt material headband in her top drawer, she slid it onto the front of her hair, keeping most of the frizzy curls away from her face.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Jayde found Dotcom pouring himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee that perfumed the entire bottom half of the house. She rounded the bar, taking deep breaths with her nose in the air. After offering her a mug, Dotcom leaned against the counter, watching her pour herself some of the strong coffee.

"So are you excited for-…" he began, but stopped and both looked over when the garage door opened. The Joker stepped inside a second later, pausing on the threshold to frown around at the house until he noticed Jayde and Dotcom watching him from the kitchen. He turned slowly to Jayde, the frown on his face dissolving quickly into a cheeky, 'I know something you don't know' type of grin. Her eyebrows raised.

"So you guys just figured there was no problem with firing guns at eight this morning?" she asked immediately, placing one hand on her hip to tilt her head to the side. Joker shook his head with a shrug and a confused expression.

"Yeah." His raspy voice replied and Jayde rolled her eyes at Dotcom; apparently the topic was now closed. However, Joker was now stepping over to her and hee squinted down at her, bending his knees slightly to be more at her level. "I'm guess you forgot what day it is."

Jayde's face relaxed as she looked up at him, momentarily distracted when she noticed inwardly that this was the first time he had made full eye contact with her for more than a few seconds in over a week. She hesitated in her answer, trying to take as much time staring at the chocolate brown color there as she could. Joker was still waiting for an answer when she blinked a few times, frowning slightly.

"Uh…"

"_Uhhhh…" _ Joker mocked her, leaning down even further. "Well, today is March first…" Suddenly, Jayde gasped and he tossed his hands with a generous roll of this eyes.

"Oh my god! Audrey and our hair appointment!" she cried and immediately took off toward the stairs but squealed when Joker reached out to catch the back of her bushy hair in a tight fist. She staggered backward as he pulled, forcing her back into the kitchen.

"Ah, ah, ah…Listen." He instructed, his hand still clenched tight around the back of Jayde's hair, forcing her to stand still long enough so he could speak. A grin slowly attacked his face when he noticed her cringe slightly from his grip. "I've already taken care of the appointments, alright? Just go get ready and come back down here." Joker paused, then let go of her hair with a slight push, suddenly realizing how long it had been since he had done that. "-Now." He added and Jayde took off running up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, Jayde stepped out into the garage, glancing around until she noticed Joker and Tre standing at the back end of the huge truck. She was about to ask Joker if he was ready to 'brief her' on the plan that he had obviously formulated _just _ for Jayde and Audrey to do something as simple as get their hair done, but she realized quickly that neither Joker nor Tre had heard the door open. They were still talking rather quietly between themselves so Jayde inched a little bit closer until their voices became clearer.

"-How are you going to do that, though? There's no way you can infect that much of Gotham with-…" Tre was saying but Joker shook his head, interrupting him.

"It's not impossible, Dotcom knows a whole list of people in that industry. It's just a matter of-…" Joker was saying but he turned his head at the last second, changing the direction of his voice. Jayde frowned and was about to inch closer when he suddenly looked over his shoulder, directly at her. Jayde straightened up quickly but it was too late; Joker was already smirking. "Eaves-dropping, are we? Hm?" he asked and Jayde shrugged from the other end of the truck.

"I didn't want to interrupt." She made up a lame excuse for her rudeness but she knew Joker wasn't buying it. He would not have forgotten her eagerness to hear his plans. "I just called Audrey. She wants me to pick her up at her hotel and-…"

At the other end of the garage, Joker held up his hand. "Hold that thought." He said, glancing at Tre before back to her and he motioned for her to pass between the two massive trucks toward them. A second later, Jayde stepped forward at the same time he did and both turned sideways to pass each other between the trucks. However, it just so happened that they had turned the same direction and reached the thinnest area between the SUVs at the same time, leaving Jayde to squeeze by him with her back to his chest.

Joker had not foreseen this happening when he had just planned to go inside the house but now he found himself wedged between the Cadillac and Jayde with her ass inconveniently pressed against his lap. Before he could stop himself, his hands instinctually reached out to rest on her hips but instead of pulling them back against the front of his jeans like his body told him to, he moved her to the side, murmuring a falsely polite 'well, _excuuuse _ me'.

An electric shock of some sort had shot up Jayde's spine at the touch of his hands and for a split second, she had quickly debated on arching her back and resting her head against his chest behind her. His voice in her ear like that was enough to make her weak and she stared after him rather stupidly once he had squeezed past her. Joker did not look over his shoulder however, and disappeared into the house without another word. Goosebumps had broken out like small mountains all over her skin at some point and she rubbed her forearms vigorously as she walked over to Tre.

"Where was he going?" she asked of the tall black guy once her knees had stopped trembling. He shrugged, taking a long drag from the cigarette in his fingers.

"Went to get you the keys to the Escalade."

Moments later, Joker had returned seemingly out of thin air, causing Jayde to jump slightly when he rattled the keys in her face loudly. "Alright, Jayde. Listen carefully."

_Finally, _after another long set of instructions from the Joker about where and exactly what she was supposed to do, Jayde was on her way to Gotham and blaring the radio so loudly, she was certain Joker and Tre could hear it back at the mansion over three miles back up the road. She had called Audrey upon leaving the gravel driveway and was now reflecting on their squealed conversation as she drove along with a silly grin on her face. It had been almost four months since she had seen her best friend and to someone like Jayde, that was a very long time to go without seeing the one person she felt knew her better than anyone on earth. She could not _wait _ to see her.

Before she left, Joker had explained to Jayde that he had gotten it set up through some connection that she and Audrey now had appointments to have their hair done at a rather posh salon in downtown Gotham…for free. When Jayde had given him a skeptical look, he laughed and went on to explain that his friend 'Maggie' owned the place and that she had agreed to keep things off the record. Jayde rolled her eyes now as she pictured some tall, skinny and pretty blonde girl on the phone with Joker, giggling and flirting with him and she was honestly a little surprised to feel a small flutter of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. A second later however, she mentally smacked herself; it was the Joker for crying out loud, who on earth would be flirting with him?

After nearly a half hour of trying to locate the right parking lot for the hotel that Audrey had said she would be staying in for the night, the girls had hugged and squealed excitedly at the sight of each other and now Jayde and Audrey were both laughing and chatting loudly. The Escalade bounced slightly as they crossed an intersection and finally, Jayde realized they were cutting it close with their appointment times. It was only nearing one o'clock but Joker had told her back at the house that Maggie would be expecting them between one-fifteen and one-thirty.

"So what salon are we going to? I need some serious highlights…" Audrey said rather air-headedly and Jayde laughed, glancing in the rear view mirror as she moved to change lanes.

"Um, apparently its this fancy salon with a French name down on Fifteenth." She answered and was so concerned with not putting any dings in the Joker's 'new truck' that she went on without thinking. "Jo-…" she caught herself. "My friend said it's really good and we should check it out. Plus he knows the lady and I think she's going to give us a good deal."

Luckily, Audrey had not noticed Jayde's near slip up and was just grinning with excitement as she watched the tall buildings pass by on the right.

It was not long from then before Jayde noticed the chic white exterior of the salon, punctuated with huge picture windows on either side of two large glass doors. Through the windows, she noticed several young women working on clients and at first, Jayde wondered if she had come to the right place, being that the salon was so open but after consulting the sign a third time, the name matched the one that Joker had given her so she got out and locked the car behind her. On the sidewalk, Audrey was practically pulsating she was so excited and even giggled at Jayde as they stepped inside the shop.

Off to the side, just inside the entrance, stood a tall, light colored hardwood reception desk and just behind it, the tall, skinny, and pretty blonde girl she had been imagining in the car on the way to the city. She looked up and smiled warmly as Jayde walked over somewhat uncertainly.

"Hi! Are you Jayde?" she asked brightly a second later and Jayde paused to blink before grinning in return.

"Yeah!" she answered. "Are you Maggie?"

The girl laughed, shaking her head and Jayde felt a bit of that pointless anxiety leave her body. "Oh, no. I'm Sarah. Maggie is back in the office, c'mon."

Jayde glanced at Audrey and Audrey, at Jayde as Sarah led them past all the occupied chairs and stylists, down a long hallway, lined with several doors before she stopped at the last one and knocked.

"Yes?" came a voice from the other side and Jayde swallowed when small butterflies began zooming around inside of her; she wasn't sure why she was so nervous all of a sudden.

"Jayde and her friend are here!" Sarah called through the wooden door, followed shortly by a squeal before the door swung open so forcefully, the blonde's hair moved in the breeze.

The woman standing there in no way resembled what Jayde had been imagining and instead resembled something of a bullfrog with her short stature and rather rotund figure. She seemed perfectly friendly as she ushered Jayde and Audrey inside though and closed the door behind them to place her glasses on the top of her modern, spiky haircut with a content sigh.

"So!" she began, sitting down behind her desk to lean forward slightly and squint at Jayde with a warm smile. "You must be Jayde." She went on, nodding at the darker haired of the two girls. "Jay told me you were pretty but I had no idea you were so striking!" Jayde laughed courteously but glanced at Audrey, who by now was just grinning rather awkwardly at the short, rather squat woman across from them.

"Well, thank you!" Jayde finally answered but found that her curiosity outweighed her desire to be polite. "So how um…How did you meet him?" she asked, sincerely hoping that Maggie would choose to be rather discrete about the subject of their conversation and she held her breath when the woman inhaled, leaning back in the chair as if trying to recall how long it had been.

"Let's see…It must have been about five years ago now, but I met him when he first moved to Gotham." She began, now removing her glasses from the top of her head to set them down on her cluttered desk. "It was the middle of December, so the weather was just _awful _and I was just leaving the bus station when I saw him trying not to fall asleep on a bench outside." At this point in her story, she paused as if for effect; either that, or for Jayde to give some sort of saddened expression. She went on after a few seconds. "I thought he was _so cute _so I went over and asked him if he had a place to stay for the night and he said no, so I brought him home with me!" She then exclaimed happily. "Well, come to find out, he was quite the, er…special young man and before long, he was paying half of my rent in return for a room to stay in for a few months. I even dyed his hair for the first time for him right before he, er…Well, you know, so ever since then, I've helped him in return for a couple little favors here and there…"

By now, it was starting to all make sense to Jayde and for the first time, even after meeting Tre, she felt as though she was beginning to understand why it seemed that Joker was almost 'nice' to a select few people. He knew that it would be impossible to do _everything _ himself and it seemed as though he had hand-picked the perfect people to be allowed into his inner circle. A small smile played with her mouth when she realized quite suddenly that she too had been selected as one of those perfect people.

Thirty miles away, Joker was in the middle of biting on his bottom lip anxiously and reflecting back on the way it had felt to have his hands on Jayde's hips again when he heard Tre cough from across the table and he looked up to accept the lit blunt from him. It had taken a little persuading at first, but finally Tre had convinced him that smoking a little weed would probably put him in a better mood. After storming around for most of the morning, Joker had finally settled down around noontime once Jayde had left the house and was now trying to think back and figure out what had put him in such a foul mood in the first place. However, upon second thought, Joker remembered that most of his bad days were not usually caused by any one thing in particular…he was just a moody guy, what could he say?

Surprisingly, the weed was helping a little and Joker was beginning to feel overcome by that warm, fuzzy sensation that spread through him like he had just climbed into a running dryer. His scars twitched when he imagined a miniature version himself tumbling about in the midst of warm clothes and clean socks and he could not help but chuckle to himself before handing the blunt back. Across from him, Tre was watching, honestly a little intrigued.

"Ya know, Ki, I'm actually kind of surprised you've stayed this long with the whole 'not fuckin' around' thing with her." He commented off-handedly after a few minutes and Joker looked over with a slight frown. "I'm kinda proud of you, bro."

For a moment or two, Joker considered telling Tre how difficult it had been, how he still continued to struggle with it every day, how one out of every two nights he had a fairly graphic dream about her and about how he could not touch or be near her at all without feeling as though he were a second away from ripping her clothes off. But luckily, it was getting _slightly _ easier so he figured that he would just nod and reply 'thanks, Tre' instead.

Fifteen minutes later, the blunt had gone out and Joker leaned back in the chair, rubbing his eyes deeply with a groan. If he were being honest, he was feeling _pretty _high and although he had admitted to himself that he _kind of _wanted to see Jayde's hair when she got home, a quick nap sounded leagues better than teasing himself again so he stood up, stretching his arms over his head to look up at his watch and groan again. It was already four o'clock and she still wasn't back…He rolled his eyes when he brought his arms down…_Girls…_

Luckily, Tre was standing up from the chair across the table and was about to walk inside so Joker went ahead of him, immediately moving toward the stairs. From below him, he heard the far-off sound of Tre's door closing and with Dotcom still doing god-knows-what in his bedroom, the opportunity for a nap was too perfect to pass up. So he took a right into his bedroom, closing his door behind him to walk over and collapse on his bed. Within seconds, his foggy mind had shut down temporarily and the Joker was fast asleep, on his back.

The garage door squeaked much more loudly than Jayde had meant it to and she was now sliding it open slowly to poke her head around the edge, peering in at the dark bottom floor of the house. The entire ride back from the city, Jayde had hoped and prayed that no one, namely Joker, would be downstairs, giving her the opportunity to really floor everyone, namely Joker, with the sight of her perfect new hair. Fortunately, the coast was clear so she tiptoed across the marble floors to the stairs where she trotted up as quickly and quietly as she could.

The white door closed silently behind her and Jayde sighed, immediately walking into the bathroom to flip on the light and comb her fingers through her temporarily straightened hair for the one-thousandth time. A proud grin appeared, stretching her scar slightly as she imagined the look on the Joker's face when he saw the way her new honey colored highlights accented her face and made her normally blue eyes look a little more electric. But seeing as to how it was only five-thirty, Jayde had over an hour to get ready to go back and meet Audrey for dinner before hitting the club. As she sat down on the bed to watch tv for a few minutes, she silently hoped to herself that Joker would just so happen to be downstairs when she emerged wearing that oh-so-tight turquoise dress.

By the time Joker had woken up, come around and visited the restroom, it was already nearing seven-thirty and the entire house had been filled with some sort of amazing scent that forced him downstairs and into the kitchen. He found Dotcom there, leaned over something bubbling away on the stove but he did not ask what it was, only because he didn't care; he was going to eat it, no matter what it was.

Across the room, Tre was seated at the table, flipping through a magazine. As Joker approached, he picked up the smell of cigarettes and figured that he had just come inside from out on the patio. He looked up when the chair across from him scraped the floor as Joker pulled it back and sat down with a sleepy groan, combing some of his unruly green hair away from his face.

"You, uh…" Tre began but was stammering somewhat awkwardly when Joker looked over, raising an eyebrow slowly. "You uh, seen her yet?"

At that moment, Joker was just about to ask just what the _fuck _Tre meant by that when the sound of Jayde's door opening upstairs tore his attention from the conversation at hand to look up, before he could even put two and two together.

_Apparently, _someone had come in and switched Jayde with some sort of supermodel…either that, or a Playboy bunny…he wasn't quite sure yet.

Joker felt a strange sensation start to sneak up on him when this fake-Jayde tossed her curtain of sleek, shiny, straight hair over her shoulders, revealing to he and Tre that the tiny, tight turquoise dress she was wearing did not have straps and seemed to be _just barely _ supporting the weight of her absolutely exquisite breasts. The longer he watched her, now walking carefully and yet seemingly floating down the stairs toward them, the more he realized that something else was different about her. Sure, there was a new color tucked into her hair in certain places but that wasn't what he was noticing. To his surprise, Jayde was wearing makeup and not just that, but it looked _really _good on her. He wasn't usually a fan of elaborate makeup on women and just viewed it as a failed attempt at looking like him, but the way Jayde had applied hers that night was dark, smoky, sultry and above all, sexy.

Her silver heel clicked lightly on the marble as she stepped down off of the stairs, and she glanced over at him but Joker did not look away. He had realized somewhere in the past ten seconds that he didn't really care if she saw him. In fact, he was almost positive, as he noticed the satisfied smirk on her face, that she had been hoping to have that exact sort of affect on him. If that were the case, then she had definitely gotten what she wanted; Joker was about ready to pounce as she strutted past him. A second later, he frowned slightly, glancing at Tre. Was she doing this on purpose? Had it been her goal all along to torment him and make him regret his decision? His eyes narrowed as he turned his head, now eyeing the tightly knit back of Jayde's dress and how it only _just _came to the middle of her thighs. _Oh, so we're gonna play dirty now…_

Dotcom was saying something about how her makeup looked flawless and Jayde was just about to step out with the Escalade keys, when Joker rose from the chair abruptly, to walk over and place his hand on the top of the garage door, holding it shut. A sharp, snarling grin turned up the corner of his lips when Jayde turned slowly to find him looming over her when she had discovered the door was stuck. It seemed she wasn't sure what to say and obviously, the look on his face was enough to make her slightly apprehensive. Perhaps she knew that she had been caught?

"When can we uh…expect you back tonight?" he asked, now leaned against the door as Jayde shifted her weight from one heel to the other, glancing down at her feet.

"Um, probably not until after one. I have to drop Audrey off at her hotel then I'll be coming back here." She finally explained and as badly as Joker wanted to warn her not to drink and drive or do anything stupid, he was suddenly distracted by the somewhat thick layer of foundation she had nearly slathered over the thin scar on her left cheek. His eyebrows practically met in the middle as he brought his thumb to his mouth, moistening it with his tongue before reaching out to grip her face. His wet thumb traveled down her cheek, taking with it the layer of makeup, exposing the noticeable scar underneath. At first, Jayde had tried to pull away from his grip but he held tighter until he was satisfied that the scar was completely visible. With a smirk, he tilted his head to the side, grinning down at Jayde as she glared in return. But a second later, he had leaned down, pressing the side of his face against the side of hers, connecting the scar on his left cheek with the matching one on hers. He heard her take a quick surprised breath and in some random wave of insanity, he reached up, allowing his fingers to go gliding through her impossibly soft hair.

"Just remember where your loyalties lie, kid." He murmured against her ear in a voice that only she could hear, and with that, he pulled away, opening the door to let her out. He watched her go but could not help the pleased, accomplished feeling he got when she turned to glance at him over her shoulder uncertainly.

Jayde could feel her eyes vibrating slightly when Audrey handed her the vodka cranberry she had ordered and she took a sip, only to cringe slightly. Across from her, Audrey's eyes widened slightly when Jayde turned to look at her with a suspicious glare.

"You got me a double tall?" she practically shouted over the loud music, only to laugh when Audrey shrugged, looking away pointedly.

At first, upon arriving and struggling through the crowd of people, Jayde had been feeling rather awkward and almost as if she didn't really want to be there. She had even thought quickly back to her comfy bed at the house over thirty miles away but now that half of her strong drink was gone, she was pleased to find that her mind was beginning to relax a bit and she was just about ready to squeeze into a nearby throng of people with Audrey, when someone came up alongside her. For a split second, Jayde had thought fleetingly that she was about to look up and the Joker would be standing there, smirking down at her, but it was not. In his place, stood a young guy about her age, but only a few inches taller than her, in heels. He was smiling in a friendly sort of way but Jayde noticed immediately when his eyes flickered downward to the top line of her dress. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes and turn away rudely, Jayde smiled back at him.

"Hey, I'm Kelly." He introduced himself loudly, but still Jayde wasn't sure if she had heard him right. Leaning forward, she squinted at him slightly with her ear turned more toward him.

"Sorry, did you say-?" she went to ask in a something of a shout but he laughed, taking a step closer to sit down the barstool next to where she stood. He nodded a second later, glancing at the scurrying bartenders.

"Yeah, I'm Kelly." He repeated, grinning a little shyly up at her. "Kind of a weird name, I know." Jayde shrugged, taking the last sip of her drink, thinking to herself that his name was actually kind of hot. It was unusual but unique and Jayde had always been partial guys with strange names…kind of like the name Kieron…Her eyes had drifted off to the gyrating crowd of people but Kelly leaned forward again, his voice raised over the music. "You forgot to tell me what your name is, miss."

Jayde looked over again, then turned to lean against the bar with one of her hips, tossing her hair with a little more flirtiness than she had meant to; she couldn't help it. The alcohol was beginning to have an affect on her and she suddenly noticed that this 'Kelly' guy had a really stunning set of green eyes. "Jayde," she finally told him, grinning. "I'm Jayde."

Before she even knew what had happened, Jayde and Kelly had spent nearly three songs chatting, or shouting rather, and when she turned to find Audrey, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. It seemed as though the bumping and grinding mass of people had swallowed her up and she was now gone, but Jayde wasn't worried yet; Audrey was probably pretty drunk by then. She always managed to get a lot of attention from guys since she was truthfully very cute, but Audrey did have a nasty habit of making mistakes that she later regretted. Jayde turned back to Kelly, still seated in the bar stool next to her.

"Did you see where my friend went?" she asked him, leaning forward slightly but jumped a second later when he placed his hand on her hip as if this was going to help him stand up from the stool to look around. Normally, this cheap attempt at copping a feel would have bothered Jayde but surprisingly, she didn't really care…In fact, she kind of liked the attention she was getting from this guy. He seemed taller now as he looked around the room, his fingers still curled around her hip and now, with him so close, Jayde could smell the cologne on him and see the top of a tattoo across his upper chest.

"I think she's over there." He was saying, so Jayde allowed him to take her hand and lead her over into a thick crowd of people over by the stage, where they found Audrey a few minutes later, dancing incredibly suggestively with some guy. When she spotted her, Jayde let go of Kelly's hand to wiggle her way over until Audrey noticed Jayde approaching and broke away from her dance partner.

"Hey!" she practically screamed, tossing her arms around Jayde's shoulders for a drunken hug. "Dance with me!"

By now, Jayde was about two and a half drinks in, so of course she found no problem with dancing at the moment…that was until two hands rested on her hips from behind, pulling her back slowly until her body met his. A slight shock ran up her spine at that instant and suddenly, Jayde's mind was back at the mansion when Joker had done that exact same thing to her, seemingly months ago. Before she could think twice, Jayde's body had melted to the front of Kelly's and they were suddenly grinding deeply with each other.

As hard as she tried to wish that the man behind her was the Joker, Kelly was proving to be an excellent dry-humping partner and Jayde couldn't help but groan a little when his hands squeezed her hips. The song had changed into a slightly slower, more bass-heavy song but Jayde wasn't really listening and instead, was wondering how angry the Joker would be if she were to go home with this Kelly person. A slight shiver wracked her entire body when she imagined the look on his face and his raspy whisper in her ear from earlier returned to echo in the back of her mind.

_Just remember where your loyalties lie, kid. _

_ What loyalties? _ Jayde asked herself savagely a moment later and with that, she finally let go and really let Kelly take this song.

By the time the wheels of the Escalade bounced from the street onto the gravel driveway, the time on the radio was nearing one forty-five in the morning and Jayde's feet hurt _incredibly _bad. When she and Audrey had left the club almost an hour before, she had taken them off and the silver heels now sat abandoned in the passenger seat next to her. She glanced at them, trying to decide if she was too tired to bring them in or not, but a moment later, she figured that Joker would probably be mad if she left them in there. So she reached out, grabbing them one-handedly with a groan as she slid out of the driver's seat once the garage door had gone down.

The house was completely pitch black upon opening the door as quietly as she could, but Jayde had known it would be that way; her eyes had flown to the windows of the house as she came over that last small hill. A huge sigh of relief had escaped her when she noticed that everything was dark. Luckily, it seemed as though the Joker had already gone to bed…otherwise, she might have been in trouble for her tardiness.

With the door to the garage now shut and locked behind her, Jayde blinked around at the absolutely pitch black interior of the house, surprised to find that not even the moon from outside was providing her with any vague light. And since she had a few drinks at the club, Jayde had a feeling it would just be smarter in general to go and turn on the light, thus preventing a nasty slip and fall on the stairs.

She rose onto her tiptoes, slowly creeping across the kitchen to the light switch that controlled the small accent lighting up on the second floor, the small portrait lights that softly illuminated the walls of the upper hallway. The switch gave a nearly inaudible click as she flipped it on, only to turn and gasp quietly.

The Joker had _not _gone to bed yet.

In fact, he was wide awake and sitting on the top stair, leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, a very unfriendly sort of half-scowl, half-smirk rested on his dimly illuminated features. It had taken a fair amount of restraint not to scream when she saw him but she was now grinning, hoping she could smooth out Joker's next words with a little good old fashioned girlish charm. This seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Hey, you." She practically purred, now standing at the bottom of the stairs with her hip cocked to one side and her head to the other. Her eyes felt a little heavy with her fading buzz but she did not see the point in trying to open them more; the half-lidded look was just adding to the appeal. Joker's hands were up in front of his mouth as he rested his chin in them but one of his eyebrows raised when the corners of his eyes wrinkled slightly so Jayde assumed he was grinning and advanced up a few more stairs toward him. However, the closer she got, the more time had passed since she had greeted him and still Joker did not reply, but instead watched her from behind those chocolate brown, glossy eyes. Jayde frowned slightly once she had reached the top step and was about to sit down when Joker stood up, clearing his throat slightly as he did.

"What's wrong?" Jayde asked somewhat innocently at his lack of a response, now closely watching his face as he laughed somewhat breathlessly, rolling his eyes to the ceiling, squinting as though trying to remember something.

"What's wrong…" he repeated, those eyes now rolling back down to focus on hers. "Let's see…what's wrong…_Oh_ yeah," he suddenly remembered and Jayde let out soft squeak of pain when Joker's left hand suddenly flew to her neck, his fingers immediately tightening around her throat. A moment later, her back met the wall of the hallway with such force, she felt the thin plaster crack a little behind her. Her hands immediately grabbed for his wrist as he held her pinned to the wall by the neck. His face was now inches from the side of her head and as scared as Jayde tried to feel by his lightening fast reactions, she could not ignore the way her whole body began to vibrate when he moved so close to her, his belt now pressed against her bellybutton. A slow, staggered breath escaped Jayde when his clowny, raspy voice spoke in her ear.

"So I've noticed lately that you've been a _little _carelesssss, Jayde." He growled, lingering slightly on the '-s' with a soft hiss. Jayde would have interrupted to ask what he meant, but she was too busy hoping he wouldn't notice the goosebumps now coating her arms and shoulders. "In _fact,_" his voice raised again to a normal level. "I've even noticed you seem to think I'm stupid, hm?" At this, Jayde did open her mouth to speak but immediately clamped her lips together when the blade of Joker's favorite knife caught the moonlight and her insides disappeared altogether; it had been a while since she had seen that particular item in his hand. "Ah, ah," he cut her off when he noticed her start to speak and was now towering over her with one hand still around her throat, the other allowing the tip of the knife to drag along the soft mounds of cleavage that dress managed to create. His eyes were following the movement of the knife until he seemed to remember that he was supposed to be threatening her.

"Don't think I haven't seen the way you look at me," he snarled suddenly, tightening his left hands grip on her neck when he snapped back into the right frame of mind. Jayde stared up at him, her eyes wide. "that way you lick these lips…" the tip of the knife now rested on the middle of Jayde's bottom lip, separating it slightly from the top one as Joker watched it, his eyes dilated and practically reflective from the glossiness. "I don't appreciate it, Jayde. Not. One. Bit." His voice dropped slightly with each word he spoke until the tiny hairs all along Jayde's arms stood on end and she shivered slightly as he continued to hold her pinned against the wall; the cracked plaster behind her felt as though it had been replaced with ice. Finally, Jayde seemed to be finding her tongue, now that she understood what he was talking about.

"Joker, I honestly haven't been trying to-…" she began but Joker bristled like an angry dog, giving off waves of livid energy that Jayde could practically feel burning her skin as he gripped her neck tighter.

"Don't. _Lie. _To me." he growled, his shiny eyes mere inches from Jayde's as he glanced back and forth between them a few times. "Consider this an official warning, Jayde. If you play with fire, you're going to get burned. _Sooner, _than later_," _ he threatened darkly, glancing down at the tip of the knife now rested gently just under the side of her jaw and his hand slowly moved downward, gliding the dull edge over that extra sensitive spot on her neck that he had _not _forgotten about. The corners of his lips turned up in a sly grin when he noticed her eyes slide closed and she shivered slightly.

"So let's just play nicely, hm? You probably wouldn't like me very much if we decided to really play dirty…"

Finally, Jayde opened her eyes to look up but before she could comment or ask what he had meant by that, the Joker released her throat, pushing her roughly down the hall toward her room. His back was hunched slightly as he turned his head to watch her go, glancing over her shoulder every few paces until she reached the door to her room and slipped inside quickly to shut it behind her. Had the lock been on the inside of the door, she would have done that too, but it didn't seem as though he would be following her in there, although…she kind of wished he would.

She knew he had just done that to scare her and at first, he had succeeded, but now as Jayde lay there in the dark room, watching the tv without really seeing it, all she could think about was how much she had missed the feeling of his hand around her throat and the way he felt when he stood that close to her. It seemed as though the Joker had caught on to her little scheme and a wiry grin slid onto her face when she realized it had worked; she had rattled the bars of Joker's cage and as she slipped off to sleep, she visualized a bristling, angry lion pacing back and forth, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. All Jayde had to do now was unlock the cage and wait.

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the support on that last chapter. I really appreciate it. I tried to get everything into this chapter but it just grew far too long and I didn't want it to be taking you three days to read it. So I'll just save the _first _climax in the sequel of this saga until the next chapter…you guys can be patient, right?…::wink wink:: LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! = ] -QoM


	12. Getting Even

…Possibly controversial chapter here, kids. Proceed with caution…

To Jayde's immense surprise, the following morning when she rolled over, the first thought that popped into her mind was not Joker's 'conversation' with her the previous night, but rather the fact that she had a _splitting_ headache. With a groan, she closed her eyes tightly against the bright, golden sunlight now spilling into her bedroom from the huge picture window, mentally noting to remind herself about asking for some sort of heavy blanket to drape over it the way Joker had in his room.

Her eyes opened slightly again as this thought passed through her mind and suddenly, she was taking a deep breath in to exhale slowly…_Joker._ Pieces of his words echoed in the back of her mind as if played through a tape recorder and if she lay still long enough, she could still feel a slight pressure where his hand had been at her neck. A deep shiver flowed through her from her toes to the top of her head and she shuddered, burying herself further into the blankets.

"_Don't think I haven't seen the way you look at me…" _ he had said. "_that way you lick these lips_…"

As nervous as Jayde was trying to feel about it, she could not stop the tiny smirk that found her face when she thought back to the sensation that had shot through her body when he placed the tip of that knife on her bottom lip. She wanted to pretend like that feeling had been fear, but the longer she thought about it, the more she began to realize that it hadn't been fear at all, but rather excitement.

Still, the thought of getting out of bed and going downstairs to see him made that slight anxiety intensify, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was living in 'his house', after all. Hoping that he would be out in the garage, Jayde finally rose from the bed, groaning when her head threatened to split in half and she decided immediately that her first stop would be the kitchen for a glass of water.

After stumbling into a pair of jeans and baggy sweater, Jayde set out into the hallway but paused when she reached the stairs, doing a slight double-take when her eyes noticed a faint crack in the beige colored wall. Goosebumps spread over her arms against her will so she continued hastily, shivering slightly as she went.

Through the tall glass windows, Jayde could see the curly top of Dotcom's reddish hair so after retrieving a glass of ice water, she walked over to step outside, grinning groggily at him when he looked up from his phone. He smiled, reaching up to take his glasses from the top of his head to place them on his nose.

"Hey," he greeted her, sliding his pack of cigarettes toward her. "Have a good time?"

Jayde laughed somewhat sheepishly after she had lit one, glancing down at her lap before looking over at him. "Yeah, I did. It was fun." She answered honestly, but from the look on Dotcom's face, Jayde could tell he wasn't convinced. She went on, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I had a good time until I came home and Joker…_threatened_ me…" Dotcom let out a little gasp, turning more toward her to lean forward on the table.

"He did? About what?" he asked in an almost excited-sounding voice and Jayde laughed, arching in eyebrow at him.

"I'm…not really sure, to be honest. He was just really…mad for some reason and said stuff like 'don't think I don't see the way you look at me' and…about how I was being careless and thought he was stupid, or something." She explained, shaking her head to look away but when Dotcom hmm-ed in a pensive sort of way, she looked back over at him. A moment later, he laughed, leaning back in the chair.

"Well, you won, girl." He said, winking at her. "You're getting to him…getting under his skin. I guarantee he loses it every time you enter the room and _that _ is saying something. Now, if I were you, I would just keep at it a little bit longer and you guys will be doing the no-pants dance again in no time."

Both burst out laughing simultaneously, their voices bouncing all over the patio, reverberating faintly out to the driveway where the Joker glanced back at the house, his forehead wrinkled in a scowl. It appeared as though Jayde was awake and obviously thought _something _was pretty damn funny…

"Ay!" Tre now shouted, standing from his knelt position and Joker turned his head, that scowl deepening slightly. "You gonna help me with this or what?"

"Yeah," Joker finally answered and knelt across from Tre, holding the two edges of the old metal together. "I caught Jayde last night as she was coming home." he blurted a few seconds later, his eyes shifting from the wall of the truck to Tre when he stopped what he was doing to look up. It was a mark of their friendship that Tre did not need to ask what he meant by 'caught' and was instead shaking his head.

"That what that crack in the wall is from?" he asked and when Joker didn't answer, he tsk-ed once. "Man…" he began, reaching up to resume tightening the bolt. "You better stay clear of her." He then warned. "Or you're gonna end up doing something you'll regret, I promise you that, Ki." Joker tutted loudly, rolling his eyes.

"Tre, c'mon…I don't regret anything I've ever done." He answered, his eyes now focused rather aimlessly on what Tre was doing and he went on somewhat absentmindedly. "I don't have time to regret anything. When I make a decision to do something, I do it because it benefits me in some way, shape or form. Weak-minded people regret things." Tre had been nodding during all of Joker's previous ramblings and now glanced over at him.

"Yo, Kieron?"

"Hm?"

"Shut the fuck up."

Jayde had just washed her hands in the downstairs bathroom and was now grinning at herself in the mirror once she noticed how her previously straightened hair looked after sleeping on it. As she fell the asleep the night before, she could remember thinking that it would probably be huge and frizzy when she woke up, but it was exactly the opposite. The top half had miraculously stayed straight, however the bottom lengths of her long hair had curled into large, bouncy loopy curls that Jayde couldn't have done on herself if she tried. She was in the middle of poking one or two of them with her finger when the garage door opened and Tre stepped inside, followed shortly by the Joker. Jayde felt her stomach do a nervous flip when he looked over at her.

At first, it looked as though he was about to say something but he then continued on without a word. Although Jayde tried to feel relieved that he hadn't mentioned the night before, she did feel somewhat let down that he didn't at least say hello.

"Hey," she practically called out after him some random wave of insanity, but she immediately cringed. Why had she done _that?_ Just beyond the door, she heard his footfall stop and he reappeared a moment later, walking backwards slowly until he reached the bathroom doorway. His face was blank at first but when Jayde fell silent, his eyebrows slowly began to raise as Jayde hastened to make something up. "Um-…" she started, glancing at the mirror. "How are you?" she then asked in a completely casual voice and she finally smiled when Joker glanced behind himself as if checking to see if there was someone else she might have been speaking to.

"Delightful." He then answered, squinting slightly at her in what Jayde assumed was a suspicious sort of way. "Yourself?"

Her smile expanded slightly and she nodded her head. "I'm alright. Little bit of a headache, but otherwise fine." She kept her voice casual, hoping to show him that she didn't want them to go around all day angry and fuming at each other. Hopefully, he would just so happen to get the point that Jayde still wasn't afraid of him. It seemed Joker finally gave up on trying to be hostile and a small smirk eventually jumped to his face to quirk one of his scars.

"Had a little to drink, did we?" he asked, arching an eyebrow down at her as Jayde exited the bathroom next to him and she shrugged sheepishly.

"A little."

The following few days passed somewhat gradually for Jayde, although it seemed like every time she saw Joker, he was either on the phone or sitting in a different place, writing notes or reading. Jayde could even swear she caught him reading the Bible once, but when she asked him if that's what he was doing, he had snapped at her to 'mind her own business', so that's exactly what she did.

Ever since their confrontation a few days prior, Jayde had been a little more cautious around him, even though Dotcom had told her she should continue to egg him on a bit. Despite that slight feeling of arousal she had experienced that night, there had still been a vague sense of foreboding in his warning so she listened to that for the most part and gave him his distance. However, on the somewhat rare occasion they were alone together, their conversation had stayed relatively friendly…at least as friendly as any conversation with the Joker could have been.

One night, after an absolutely perfect dinner cooked by 'Chef Dotcom', as Jayde had started calling him, she stood from the table to take the dishes in to the kitchen, turning on the water to start rinsing them. The Tre and Dotcom had stayed at the table and were now listening intently to Joker as he spoke in a voice just quiet enough that Jayde could not hear him over the sound of the running sink water. She rolled her eyes when she noticed that Joker had pulled out that black notebook of his again and was now reading something from it before looking to Dotcom, who nodded, then replied something inaudible. Of course, Jayde could not hear them, but had a feeling the moment she shut the water off, all conversation would stop and the three of them would look up at her pointedly. They had been doing this sort of 'hushed conversation' thing around her more often lately.

So in an attempt to catch a little of what they were saying this time, Jayde continued to scrub the same now clean dish, while slowly reaching out to turn the water down gradually, until Joker's voice grew louder. A few seconds later, she noticed that he too had been growing quieter and was now turning his head slowly as he spoke to glare over at her at the sink. She straightened up with a guilty grin, turning off the water completely.

"What was that?" she asked hopefully, but rolled her eyes when Joker simply raised his eyebrows, folding his forearms on the table to stare at her expectantly. "Fine…" she finally groaned and gave up on the dishes to give in and go upstairs. It was obvious Joker was not going to speak again until she had gone.

Jayde could feel Joker's gaze on her back as she walked away toward the stairs and she smirked to herself, wondering if it would be a bad idea to turn and throw him a look. She was already halfway up the stairs so she figured that if he decided to take off running after her, she was at least close to a room that locked from the inside. So she turned her head to glance over her shoulder and sure enough, down at the table, the Joker was watching her from underneath the ridge of his eyebrows, his eyes narrowed like a hawk circling a field mouse. The corner of her lips turned up in a girly smirk when she met his eyes and with that, she turned into her bedroom, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she went.

It had been hours, it seemed, from the last time Jayde left her bedroom and as she turned over to glance at the time, her eyes grew wide when she found it actually _had _been hours and the time now stood at 12:15 am. The marathon of design shows she had been watching was coming to it's conclusion at one and since curiosity was now killing Jayde, she turned down the sound to creep over to the closed door.

With her ear against the wood, she listened hard for several long seconds for any voices or noises coming from the bottom floor but stood up, frowning slightly when all seemed quiet. Sure enough, upon opening the door, Jayde rolled her eyes when she found that the whole house was dark and it appeared that everyone had already gone to bed. Obviously they had finished their 'meeting' and didn't bother to let her know that she could come out of her room…

After the door was shut again, Jayde made her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth, wincing slightly when she felt a small spasm across her lower abdomen. A second later, she groaned, rolling her eyes; that special time of the month was approaching. _Great, _she thought somewhat bitterly as she exited the bathroom. _Hey, Joker, can I borrow the car to go buy tampons?_ Even just the thought of saying that to him made her feel awkward.

A comfortable sigh left Jayde as she stepped into her favorite baggy, thin pair of white pajama pants and after replacing her sweater and bra with a long-sleeved shirt, she tossed her dirty clothes into the hamper. However, just as she turned to walk across to the bed, a long shadow caught the corner of Jayde's eye. Apparently, at some point her door had been opened and now the Joker stood in the way, smirking at her in the dark. Jayde wondered fleetingly how she hadn't heard it open, but then remembered Joker telling her how good he was at sneaking up on people. Despite her guilty rush of excitement, she also fought back a shiver of slight apprehension. It was hard to force herself not to jump, but she managed to smirk back instead, rolling her eyes slightly to herself as she turned away from him, thankful that the only light in the room was the blue glow from the television.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, walking over to the head of the bed to untuck the covers and blankets, now fully trying to avoid looking at him; the way the shadows hit his face made him look downright demonic and yet…sexy?…Jayde wasn't sure yet. There was a pause on the other side of the room before Joker's raspy voice answered.

"Wasn't trying to."

Jayde laughed to herself, finally turning to look at him once she convinced herself that the butterflies in her stomach were actually from her oncoming period. She walked toward him a few steps, unable to stop herself from reaching out to wrap her hand around the post of her bed and lean into it a little as she sat daintily on the foot of her bed. Before she could even think, her head had tilted to the side and she leaned back on her hands behind her, exposing those hipbones that she knew he was so fond of.

"Well, if you weren't such a pussy, I would say you could come sleep with _me_, but…" she paused when she noticed Joker's eyes begin to squint and a sly smirk slid across her face when he took a step toward her. He laughed quietly a few times, shaking his head before he took a few steps toward her, his eyes flickering up and down her small frame, once. His tongue was just tracing the thin scar along his bottom lip, when his hand reached out, slowly at first. Jayde's stomach turned over; she had won their game, Joker was about to give in. But instead of sliding it around her waist or even into her hair, Jayde gasped when his fingers closed tightly around her neck and a second later, she was on her back on the floor, groaning when her head banged hard against the carpet. Suddenly Joker was sitting on her stomach and his hand reached out to grip her bottom jaw. Jayde whimpered, closing her eyes to tilt her head back, trying to escape his fingers grasp. From above her, Joker gave an irritated growl at her attempt to escape his hand, tightening his grip until Jayde gave in, opening her eyes to look up at him. He leaned down, lining his eyes up with hers; Jayde felt hot tears gathering at the outer corners when she noticed how dark black his dilated pupils were.

"Ya know, Jayde…" he began, his voice clowny and jumpy, full of blinding rage that practically formed his very words as he leaned down to speak in her ear. "I find it very…difficult to believe that you did not understand me after our little, uh…_talk_the other night."

If the grip on her jaw had not been so tight, Jayde would have tried explaining herself or even apologizing but he left no time for this. A half-second later, Joker had turned her onto her stomach and was now suffocating her with his knee in her back, laughing breathlessly as he leaned into it. His hands suddenly reached out, grabbing her wrists to twist them behind her back and that's when it sank in- he was about win the game, _his _way.

He leaned to the side, after holding her wrists together tightly with one hand, and pulled the thin, long strip of white material tying the canopy to the post of her bed. More tears immediately met Jayde's eyes when she realized how precise Joker was in his movements, how he was not at all clumsy with this sort of scenario and she let out a sob; he had obviously done this before. The instant she felt him wrap that fabric around her wrists, she cried out, struggling against him the hardest she had yet.

"Joker, no._ Please_ stop…" she sobbed, trying hard to bring her knees up to push him off of her, but either he was much too heavy or way too strong. His knee pushed further into her back and she took a frantic breath in when he leaned down, placing his face next to hers.

"_No."_ he growled murderously in her ear, not even bothering to keep his voice down at this point. "You wanted this, Jayde, don't you remember? This is _your fault." _ With the white material tied tightly around her wrists, Joker was free to let go of her hands, pulling his knife from his pocket as he went to her face. "All those times you gave me the uh-…eyes? The times you came downstairs wearing…_nothing. _You were begging me for it, _hoping _I would give in…" He laughed loudly, madly, in her ear as he reached down to his belt to undo it. "And look, Jayde! You got what you wanted- I'm _giving in._"

Jayde could not agree less with him and tried to cry out and say that this was not what she wanted at all but he would not have listened, no matter how loud she screamed. Her voice broke when she sobbed, struggling hard against the bonds he had made and she practically bawled as she listened to him undo his jeans.

"_Please!" _ she cried. "I'm sorry!" Behind her Joker laughed at her plead and Jayde felt herself reach a level of hysterics when she heard the soft click of his knife.

"You're _sorry?" _Joker asked, giggling to himself when he reached out to tug Jayde's hips up off the floor. "_Nooo…_C'mon, Jayde, I mean, I know I'm a simple guy but, I know you're not sorry, this is what you wanted! Isn't it…" His knees had each found a place, pressing deeply into the back of Jayde's legs, holding her down as he used his knife to cut open the back of her thin pajama pants, exposing to him that she was not actually wearing underwear. He hmm-ed at this, reaching out to grab the back of Jayde's hair so tightly, several strands broke free from her scalp. "ISN'T IT?" he then repeated himself in a shout, yanking Jayde's head back sharply.

"No!" she finally screamed. The pain from where he was holding her legs apart was almost too much to bear but behind her, Joker laughed again at both her attempt to struggle out of his vice-like grip _and _ her futile lie.

"_No?_ Well, if you didn't want this, then why aren't you wearing any underwear, hm?" he asked in her ear, his voice now quiet and clowny but a second later, Jayde let out a short, pained scream when he forced himself into her from behind. "-Lying slut." He muttered to himself with a growl, staring down at the place where he was now pounding into her.

Tears streamed down Jayde's face as she gasped; this did not even remotely feel good. Pain such that she had never felt before radiated through her body, down into her toes and fingertips from the place where Joker was taking thorough advantage of her but when she tried to rest her head on the carpet, Joker yanked it back, bristling with rage. A second later, he let go and Jayde took a deep breath in, hanging her head forward, growing lightheaded immediately from the lack of tension. She could hear and feel him moving behind her, but she did not dare look over her shoulder at him. Her ears had started ringing so loudly, she could not hear the soft 'slap, slap, slap' of leather through belt loops, and had only just opened her eyes when Joker's worn leather belt wrapped swiftly around her throat.

His hips continued to pound unremittingly against her while Joker slipped the loose end through the buckle, tightening it around her neck until he had a crude, degrading leash on her and he pulled, yanking her head back again. Jayde sobbed, trying to take another breath but it caught in her chest as he tightened the hold on her windpipe, giggling to himself as she struggled to breathe.

A thick, cloudy haze began to swim through Jayde's brain as she slipped closer to unconsciousness and all she could hear was Joker's breathing just behind her. It sounded ragged, heavy and uneven. He did not moan or pant, or make any indication that it felt good to him and Jayde realized as her eyes slid shut that this was not about sex or getting pussy- this was about getting even. She sobbed weakly one last time before she felt her mind begin to slip away, but before she could be rescued by the blackness where pain did not exist, Joker pulled out of her abruptly and rose from the carpet. As much as Jayde wanted to collapse onto her stomach, the fear of enraging Joker further by such a simple move was too great so she stayed still, her chest and shoulders against the floor.

It seemed Joker was redoing his jeans and as Jayde crouched there, trembling violently from head to toe, she could feel hot liquid of some sort dripping, running down her thighs. She forced away the urge to vomit by closing her eyes, taking a deep, head-clearing breath. Above her, Joker sniffed in an unaffected sort of way and his left shoe came to rest on her lower back. With a slow push, he knocked her onto her stomach where she immediately curled into a ball, her eyes still shut tight.

"Just remember, Jayde..." he snarled, adding heavy emphasis on the 'd' in her name. "This was _your _fault…you brought it on yourself."

It could have been hours, maybe even days, that Jayde lay there on her side, curled up into a tiny ball with her hands behind her back. Her eyes were puffy and half-lidded, focused mindlessly on a spot in the carpet before her. Several moments after the Joker had left her room, distantly, she heard the garage door squeak open then slam shut, although it was fairly hard to hear anything over the sound of her heartbeat rushing in her ears. Jayde's body ached and throbbed from the inside, out, and she let out a long, exhausted breath as her eyes slid shut, finally. Maybe she could just stay there forever and sleep, maybe eventually just die there on the floor in her room by herself.

Jayde had almost slipped off to unconsciousness when her foggy brain registered muffled, quiet voices just before a hand came to rest on her shoulder. She jumped violently, her eyes flying open as she whimpered, struggling to back up when the Joker reached out to grab her again. However, the hand disappeared and a moment later, a deeper, somewhat comforting voice spoke gently to her.

"Ay, girl. Shh." Tre muttered in a voice that closely resembled a whisper. "He's gone. It's just me and Dotcom."

Jayde blinked a few times, lifting her head as best she could only to find that Tre was kneeling in front of her with the ashen-faced Dotcom just behind him, his face a mixed array of emotions as he glanced over his shoulder. Her head swam aggressively so she rested it back down on the carpet, her face wrinkling in tears as Tre moved her gently to untie her fabric handcuffs. A whimper of pain left Jayde when her shoulders finally relaxed and she felt them pop a few times as she folded her arms over her middle, finally realizing how badly her midsection hurt. From above her, she vaguely heard Tre's unnervingly calm voice.

"We need to get her out of here before he gets back." He murmured to Dotcom before turning again to look down at Jayde. With one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, Tre scooped her up against his broad chest before rising from the carpet. Dotcom walked ahead of him, opening the bathroom door to turn on the light.

"Bring her in here, I'm going to help her clean up." He requested, holding the door open wide enough for Tre to step in. Jayde had no idea what he meant by that, but before she could ask, Tre was looking down at her in his arms, raising his eyebrows.

"Think you can stand?" he asked, and only once Jayde nodded did he set her down gently, keeping one arm around her back at first to make sure she would not collapse. Dotcom had also reached out to her and now had his hand wrapped around hers, guiding her further into the room. The combination of lights and standing after being down for so long caused Jayde's vision to swim again and she tightened her grip on Dotcom's hand, wrinkling her nose slightly when more tears threatened to overtake her. Dotcom looked to Tre, wrapping his arm around her tenderly to help her stay up.

"Go to her dresser and get something loose and warm." He instructed. The door closed quietly behind Tre so Dotcom now turned his attention to Jayde, gazing at her tear-streaked face as she shivered deeply, clutching herself tightly with her arms. It seemed he wasn't sure what to say so he turned from her after flipping on the warm water tap, but when he returned a second later with a washcloth, Jayde finally found some energy to ask a question.

"What's that for?" she asked hoarsely, watching Dotcom as he wet the cloth, twisting it upon itself to wring the excess water out. He looked over at her somewhat awkwardly before his eyes glanced downward.

"Well, I-…You're bleeding," he finally explained. Jayde looked down a second later, only to whimper loudly, reaching out to clutch the edge of the counter as she threatened to pass out again. The formerly white pajama pants that she had been wearing were now soaked with blood, some of it dried and brownish colored, the fresher stains still bright red. Her stomach churned as she swayed, but Dotcom reached out to her again, wrapping his arm around her back to keep her standing. "It's ok, Jayde, just stand still and try not to think about it."

Jayde obeyed with great effort and it truly stood as a testament to their excellent friendship that she felt no hesitation in removing the blood-soaked linen pants for Dotcom to help wipe dried blood from the inside of her thighs and all the way down to her ankles. Above him, Jayde had begun crying again, even after trying so hard not to and she shivered violently as Joker's evil voice suddenly echoed in the back of her mind.

"You're still bleeding, Jayde, I don't…I don't know what's wrong." He said a few moments later, rising from a knelt position to rinse his hands off in the sink but Jayde shook her head, taking a deep, steadying breath.

"It's my period." She explained, her voice hoarse and strained from screaming. "I was feeling it earlier and I guess…" her nose wrinkled again and she swallowed hard, closing her eyes to lean against the counter; she couldn't bring herself to explain to him that the Joker's actions had forced it to start early. She jumped with a gasp when a gentle knock came from the door and Dotcom opened it only a crack, wide enough for Tre to pass some clothes in to them before it closed again. He turned, handing the clean pajama pants and long sleeved shirt to her, but held onto the sweatshirt until she had dressed.

Out in the room, Tre was sitting on the bed with his hands linked together, staring at the carpet. He looked up as she and Dotcom stepped out and he rose to follow them to the door, turning off her tv as they went, but the moment they reached the hallway, Jayde locked her knees, shaking her head.

"No, no." she whimpered, reaching out to place her free hand on the frame of the door as Dotcom held the other. "The second we get down to the garage, he's gonna be out there and-…" Panic was beginning to swell up in her again like a sickness, her heart racing slightly as her paranoid and traumatized mind started coming up with nightmares. "What if he's still here, he's probably just waiting-" She backed up another step but Tre was right behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders gently.

"He left, Jayde. I made sure he was gone before I came up here. But you hafta leave before he does come back." He assured her, looking down at her as if to try and tell her that no one on Earth knew the Joker better than he did and that he was being honest with her. "I'm right here, I'm gonna make sure you guys leave in one piece."

Finally, this seemed to calm Jayde's absolutely shot nerves for the time being so she allowed Dotcom to take her hand again and lead her toward the stairs to go down and cross to the garage. The house was completely dark still and eerily quiet as it neared two-thirty in the morning, but it did seem as though Joker really had left and taken the Escalade. As they stepped out, the empty spot was the first thing Jayde noticed and her heart sank as she hastily wondered how she was supposed to leave with no car. A moment later, the sound of keys caught her attention and behind her, Tre was pulling the keys to his truck from his pocket. He handed them to Dotcom.

"Take her home. I'll stay here and deal with him when he gets back. Just call when you make it to her place so I know what's goin' on, a'right?" Tre instructed as professionally as the Joker would have done. Jayde turned to look up at him and he did the same, down at her, sighing slightly. "I'm sorry, girl." He put simply but before Jayde could even try to get her mind working enough to come up with a thank you, Dotcom was pulling on her arm gently, urging her to keep moving.

As they climbed into the bulletproof truck, Tre stood in the garage, watching from the shadows until the engine started and they pulled away, out into the dead of the night. Jayde's head came to rest on the passenger window and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes once the truck had made it out onto the street and was now gaining speed. Across from her, Dotcom glanced over from the driver's seat.

"Jayde, I'm so sorry." He finally said, his voice quiet and gentle as if in an attempt to not startle her with the sudden noise. A soft hiccup left Jayde as she struggled not to start crying again; she was just too tired.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked a few moments later, turning her head to look over at him and he shrugged, running an anxious hand through his curly hair.

"It was my idea for-…I mean, I encouraged you to…" he was stammering in an effort to not finish his sentence with something that would upset her further but Jayde had closed her eyes again, resting her head back against the window.

"Don't be sorry. It was my fault." She answered. Her eyes slid open again slowly to watch a few dark trees pass by on the right. _Joker made that perfectly clear. _

It seemed like days before the wheels of the heavy truck pulled the vehicle into the basement of her apartment and once Dotcom had parked, he unbuckled his seat belt, turning to look at her as she did the same. She sniffed, suddenly realizing how absolutely exhausted she was and how nothing sounded better at the moment than just crawling into her own bed, alone.

"Thanks, Dotcom." She murmured sleepily, but as she opened the car door, Dotcom opened his as well, shaking his head.

"No, I'm not just going to leave you. I'm coming up too."

So with his hand placed gently on the inside of her elbow as extra support for her exhausted body, he walked with her toward the stairs to go up, taking their time on the six flights to keep from growing winded. Several times, as they climbed, Jayde felt the urge to just sit down and sleep in the stairwell but she fought it off, knowing her bed was so close and that Dotcom would never allow her to stop there.

At the door to her apartment, Jayde watched through a somewhat delirious haze as Dotcom pulled the lone, spare key to her place from his pocket, unlocking the door to let them both inside. It was dark at first, but something about the pitch blackness caused Jayde's stomach to clench up when she mentally pictured the Joker standing on the other side of the room, waiting for them. She quickly flipped on the hall light, sighing with relief at the sight of the empty living room and kitchen.

Her apartment was exactly as she had left it almost a month prior, although a clear inch of dust covered nearly everything. At this point, Jayde could care less if there was cobwebs with giant spiders all over her bed; she just wanted to sleep and try to forget the rapid deterioration or she and Joker's supposed 'friendship'. As she reached out to grip the wall and walk herself into her bathroom, she flipped on the next light, her eyes sliding down to her left wrist where an ugly, tender new bruise made its appearance, dark and irritated red against her olive toned skin. She ignored it at the time, opening her medical cabinet to thankfully find the box of tampons she had forgotten the last time she was there.

While she was in the bathroom, Dotcom waited on her bed and he looked up when she emerged several minutes later, smiling sympathetically up at her as she sighed. In the dark of her bedroom, Jayde noticed that his phone was still glowing as if he had just been using it so she assumed that he had just called Tre to let him know what was going on. Her curiosity got the better of her yet again.

"Is he back yet?" she asked, climbing into the bed as Dotcom scooted down enough to give her space to lay down. He shook his head in response and Jayde sighed, her stomach churning again; that meant he was still out there somewhere, fuming. After several long moments of silence, Jayde lay down, turning onto her side to face the bathroom where Dotcom sat on the edge of her bed. Her eyes slid closed when he reached out, lightly placing his hand on her back to move it up and down, slowly, in a very soothing way.

"I think I should stay with you tonight, Jayde. I don't want to leave and something-…" he went to say but Jayde rolled onto her back, shaking her head, interrupting him.

"No, you have to go back." She immediately said. "He's going to be mad enough as it is that you two helped me. You have to go help Tre deal with him." Silence fell between the two of them until finally, it seemed Dotcom agreed with her. He stood up a second later after he had given her arm a gentle, encouraging squeeze.

"Alright, well…Make sure you keep your phone close by so you can call me if you need me." he paused, raising his eyebrows when she opened her eyes to look up at him. "I mean it, Jayde, don't be a hero. If you need me, call. I'll be right here."

After Jayde had agreed to use her phone in case of an emergency, Dotcom leaned over and kissed her forehead in a friendly, heartening way and left the apartment, taking her key with him. Now, Jayde was alone again and for a moment she considered running after him and asking him to stay, that she had changed her mind when the silence became almost too much to handle. But what she had told him was true; Joker would be back to that house soon, more than likely looking for her. When he found out she was no longer there and that his own closest team-members had helped her escape, Jayde was positive the anger that exploded from him would be monumental to say the least. She shuddered violently as she rose from her bed a second later, taking her heavy comforter and pillow with her to the couch where she curled up, deciding that the noise and light from the television might be enough to comfort and distract her.

However, the moment she lay down and closed her eyes, even with the tv on, her brain was no match for the flood of recent memories that poured through the flood gates of her mind and before she could stop herself, she was crying into her pillow, trembling from head to toe with poorly suppressed sobs.

"_Lying slut." _

Joker's cruel words echoed in her mind.

"_This is your fault…You brought it on yourself."_

After nearly an hour of laying there, sniffling quietly to herself in the dark, Jayde finally fell into an uneasy slumber, although she was positive, as she drifted off, that she had not seen the last of the Joker…and that he hadn't seen the last of her, either.

A/N: I understand that I may not have pleased everyone with this chapter, but I have one request. If you absolutely hated it or did not agree with it, please send me a private message to vent. No flames on the reviews, please. = ] I love ya guys. LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! -QoM


	13. Regret

The sound of the garage door slamming closed behind Joker echoed like a gunshot through the entire house. His heart was racing as though he had just run a mile, the keys to the Escalade clenched tightly in his black leather gloved hand. Joker could feel them shaking a bit as he marched across the first floor to the stairs, but that just meant he needed to clench them tighter to try and steady as much of that anxious energy as he could.

When he arrived at the mansion just minutes before, Joker had glanced at his watch to find it was nearing nine in the morning and he was mildly surprised to find he had been gone for that long. That being the case, the sun had already risen over the top of the distant line of trees, illuminating the bottom story in bright golden light. The second floor remained doused in shadows, however and Joker crept quietly along down the hallway toward Jayde's room, keeping his back as close to the inside wall as possible without actually touching it. He wondered momentarily if she would still be laying there on the floor or if she had somehow managed to free her hands and was now in the bed. Either way, it didn't matter to him; they needed to have a few words.

As he reached the door, Joker's right arm moved out slowly, pushing open the slightly cracked door until it first showed him the vacant spot on the carpet where he had left her. Instead, he found a few brown, now dried blood stains where her knees had been. But now with the door wide open, Joker's eyes flew to the bed where the blankets lay folded down neatly, completely undisturbed and after glancing around the empty room, a white hot bubbling sensation started in the pit of his stomach.

"ANDREW!" Joker practically bellowed as he stepped out into the hallway, his shoulders heaving slightly as he listened to his voice echo loudly in the huge house. All was quiet in response and as the last faint echoes of his voice trailed off, Joker took a deep breath, preparing to shout again. A moment later, he paused when Dotcom's door opened slowly on the other end of the hall and he stepped out, his eyes narrowed at Joker.

"Yeah, boss?" he asked as innocently as possible but Joker was already advancing toward him, quickly closing the distance so his hands could grab the front of his nerds sweatshirt and slam him up against the wall. Now inches from his face, his eyes widened slightly as he glanced back and forth between Dotcom's.

"Care to tell me where _Jayde _is?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he glared through Dotcom's glasses. "_Hm?" _ he went on, shaking him slightly when he did not receive an answer right away. Within moments, Dotcom's face wrinkled into a scowl and he brought his hands up to shove Joker away from him hard.

"I took her home last night after you _raped _ her." He answered, standing his ground when Joker rounded on him, towering over him. A breathless, clowny laugh escaped him as if Dotcom had told him a not-so-funny joke.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, cocking his head to the side and a second later had brought out his small switchblade knife from his pocket to place the razor sharp tip on the middle Dotcom's chest. "You did what now?" Again, Dotcom's eyes showed no fear and he held his ground, glaring bravely up at the Joker.

"I took her home." he repeated himself loudly, emphasizing each word as if speaking to a person severely hard of hearing. Joker was momentarily quiet, seemingly stunned for a half-second that Dotcom was speaking to him like this so he noticed the opportunity to continue and he jumped at it, pointing at Joker's chest with one finger. "You're a piece of shit, you know that?" he spat, looking Joker up and down with disgust as he took a step back. "That girl does nothing but worship the ground you walk on. She _waited_ for three months for you to get out of jail and _this _ is how you repay her? By treating her like some slut you picked up?" By now, Dotcom was practically shaking as he released all of that pent-up aggression toward his boss and it seemed to Joker that he did not really care what happened to him at this point as he abandoned all pretense. "_Fuck _you, Joker. You _disgust _ me."

At first, Joker wasn't really sure what to do but luckily the sound of someone clearing their throat from the bottom floor caught his attention and he turned quickly, scowling down at Tre over the balcony. His best friend stared back up at him as if challenging him to try and intimidate him like he had just done to Dotcom but Joker laughed again, loudly, leaning out over the railing slightly.

"And, Tre! I think I remember taking the Escalade with me last night." he began, walking over to the stairs to trot down toward him. "So _how_, pray tell, did dear, little Jayde get home?" Joker walked straight up to Tre, standing less than a foot away as he glared at his calm, yet angry, brown eyes. Tre shook his head.

"Man, you need ta back up," he warned but Joker only took another half-step closer, cocking his head to the side tauntingly.

"Or what-" the words were not even completely out of Joker's mouth before Tre threw a punch that connected with the side of his face like the kick from the back end of a horse. It knocked him backward a few steps but he caught hold of a chair at the table and held on tight, struggling hard to stay standing. He laughed, looking over at Tre as he wiggled his jaw back and forth, trying to pop it while he weighed his options here. Although Joker was not usually one to back down from a fight, there was one person in the entire world, and really only _one _person, who could beat him to within an inch of his life, and it was Tre.

"You don't _scare_ me, Kieron." Tre said loudly, completely bypassing the promise he had made to Joker to not use his real name in front of Dotcom. "And you know, dude is right. That girl is nothing but good to you and you go n' treat her like dog shit on your shoes?" He paused, lowering his voice slightly as Joker stood up straight, looking over at him with a blank expression on his face. "You should be ashamed of yourself, bro. You said you were never going to do that shit again after that one time..."

Joker shook his head fervently as if trying to keep Tre from elaborating and he let out a frustrated growl, glancing over at the stairs uneasily as Dotcom came down towards them. Finally, Joker had run out of things to be angry about and was honestly feeling cornered as his two closest henchman ganged up on him. He tossed his arms, letting them smack against his sides as he abandoned all hope of scaring anyone.

"So what do I do?" he shouted, his eyes wide and mad as he looked from Dotcom to Tre and back again. Over at the stairs, Dotcom tutted quietly, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.

"I dunno, I've never _raped _ anyone before." He answered in a quiet mutter. Joker exhaled through his nose as his lips thinned angrily, pointing a threatening finger at Dotcom. Tre spoke up a second later, distracting him.

"You gotta decide if you really feel bad about it. If you really want her here then you gotta be sorry about what you did, and _tell her_. Otherwise, Jayde ain't never comin' back." Tre explained calmly, staring at Joker as he blinked, somewhat catching his breath until he laughed at the ceiling once, running his hand through his hair.

"I _need_ her here!" he exclaimed a moment or two later, dropping his abandoned knife onto the table to toss his hand again. "I don't even-…I mean, last night-…" Joker tried desperately to find words to explain himself but the longer Dotcom and Tre stood there, watching him struggle, the further his explanation got from him…That, and he wasn't really quite sure what had happened himself.

Across at the stairs, Dotcom stepped off the bottom step onto the floor where he crossed his arms, shrugging as he glanced at Tre. "He's right," he finally said, motioning to Joker's best friend with his head. "If you don't feel sorry for what you did then there is no point in going to try and get her to come back. Jayde is pretty much the only person who can see right through you, you know-..."

The whole time Dotcom had been speaking, Joker had closed his eyes and was nodding impatiently until he finally growled, then snapped, "Shut up! Just…Shut up." His hands reached up to press the heels of them into his eyes, a short sigh escaping him. "Everyone just shut up for a second, I gotta-…" he was mumbling as though there was a whole group of people standing there, talking, but he never went on to say what he 'gotta' do. Instead, he brought his hands down, blinking as he walked over to Dotcom to hold out his hand.

"Give me the key to Jayde's apartment." He did not ask but demanded, staring down at Dotcom as he glanced at Tre apprehensively on the other side of the room. Joker groaned irritably at this, shaking slightly as his mingled confusion and frustration threatened to explode out of him. "Just do it!" he shouted. "I'm not going to-…_hurt _her, I just need to-…talk…or something." It seemed so pointless to try and explain himself to Tre and Dotcom at the time, only because he still wasn't completely sure what was going on or what this strange emotion was that he was feeling. It made him feel itchy from the inside out but finally, when he felt like he was on the brink of really losing it, Dotcom pulled a single key from his pocket and handed it to him. Without so much as a thank you, or even a second glance, Joker slipped the key into his vest pocket, turning to walk over to the garage door and step out.

Once the Escalade had made it out onto the long, quiet winding road, Joker rolled down the four windows to let in all the brisk morning air, finally feeling as though he could think, now that he was away from Dotcom and Tre's disapproving glares and sentiments. In his 'career', Joker never really let people's looks of disgust and loathing affect him and honestly, he found them pretty funny most of the time…but something about the way they had looked at him, _glared_ at him made him feel very small and _very _stupid. This sensation to a guy like the Joker was _not _pleasant in any sense of the word.

Still that one little knot sat in the pit of Joker's stomach when he thought about Jayde…and the way it had sounded when she begged him to stop, cried and even screamed. He growled in frustration as he tried to push the residual sound out of his memory and he sat up straighter in the seat to grip the steering wheel with both hands. As much as he would have loved to pretend like he hadn't known what he was doing or that he had flown into some blind rage and blacked out, it just wasn't true. He had known exactly what he was doing, knew exactly who it was hurting and yet he had still gone so far as to _rape _the one person that was there for him no matter what, the one person he could count on to bend over backwards for him. _I really fucked it up this time._

Now, as the Escalade bounced onto the interstate from the two lane street, Joker shook his head, clicking his tongue once against the roof of his mouth as he shifted uneasily in the driver's seat. If he were being perfectly honest, he was beginning to feel a bit like an animal being sent to the slaughter house and fleetingly, he wondered if Jayde had maybe, possibly just gotten over it and was contemplating her words of forgiveness, since he was not actually planning on saying the words 'I'm sorry' to her. On second thought, both of those hopeful scenarios seemed highly unlikely so Joker just hoped he could figure out a way to apologize without actually saying it, preferably before he got there.

By the time Joker had gotten to the sixth floor of the apartment building, his entire stomach was in knots, to his great surprise, but he fought through it and marched straight out into the hallway and down toward Jayde's door. But once he had come within feet of it, he turned on a dime in mid-stride and started walking back down toward the stairwell to leave, muttering something about 'fuck it' to himself. A small voice that sounded an awful lot like Tre echoed in the back of his mind a second later, so Joker turned again and finally forced himself back to Jayde's door.

As quietly and stealthily as he could, Joker inched the key into the lock until it was all the way in, but as he turned the knob, he noticed the deadbolt was not on. He found this somewhat strange but was not left much time to dwell on it when he opened the door slowly to _just_ peer around the edge. His eyebrows furrowed when the hallway appeared empty, so he stepped inside, frowning, unsure of what he had been expecting. A second later, Joker jumped when a something heavy and glass collided with the wall just over his head, exploding into a thousand tiny pieces that rained down into his nappy green hair. Across the hall, at the far end of the kitchen stood Jayde, another glass clutched in her hand as she prepared to throw it. Joker had never seen an expression on her face that even nearly mimicked the one there now, but despite the sinking feeling he had experienced upon looking over, he grinned somewhat sheepishly.

"Hey-," he began to say but ducked out of the way, into the living room when Jayde threw her next glass with all the strength she could muster. "Jayde!" he called out, once the loud shattering sound of glass had died off. "Now, _really_…I just came to-" he tried, but once again, Jayde cut him off, leaning into the counter toward him on the other side of the breakfast bar.

"I don't give a _FUCK _ what you came to do. Get out of my house, _now_." She shouted, her voice still somewhat raspy and strained sounding and Joker could not help but wonder to himself if that was from screaming the night before or from crying so much, as it was obvious that's what she had been doing. Her eyes were slightly puffy and rather red and for some reason or another, Joker could not stop staring at her as she walked around the edge of the kitchen, into the living room and over to the couch. She had just reached out to pick up her cell phone when Joker's eyes noticed the ugly bruises around her wrists. Another small voice told him not to do it, but he reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder lightly…this was not a good idea.

Jayde spun so quickly Joker did not have time to react and a moment later, her hand connected with his face in a slap so hard, Joker saw stars for a few seconds as he blinked several times. When his vision adjusted, he found that Jayde had plopped down onto the couch, picking up her phone to dial three numbers.

"Get out or I'm calling the cops." She snapped, but at this point, Joker could only laugh as he dropped onto his knees, kneeling down in front of her spot on the couch. His hands reached out, moving to grab her wrists and at first Jayde let him, although a moment later, her eyes narrowed onto his in the most hateful glare Joker had ever seen from any girl he had ever…_accosted. _

"You're not going to call the _cops_, Jayde." He said with a laugh as he rolled his eyes. Jayde thought it was awfully rich of him to tell her what she was or wasn't going to do and a moment later, he paid dearly for his impudence when she spit in his face, shoving him away from her as hard as she could.

Joker groaned, reaching up to wipe her spit off of his cheek but with him momentarily distracted, Jayde saw her opportunity and could not stop herself. Her right arm pulled back as far as it would go before she released it, throwing her shoulder into it the way her dad had taught her all those years ago. Her fist connected with Joker's jaw so hard, Jayde felt one of her fingers break and give a great jab of pain, although she hardly noticed from the amount of adrenaline now pounding through her veins. It seemed she had _almost _knocked him out with that punch as Joker fell onto his side, groaning as he blinked hard, shaking his head to try and clear the fuzziness away.

'"_Jesus, _Jayde-" he went to say but Jayde had already jumped up off the couch and was taking one step forward to bring the top of her foot hard against his face as he rested his now throbbing head on the carpet. Blood spilled from his nose almost immediately and he brought one hand up to wipe some of it away, holding it out in front of him to look at the bright red liquid now coating his skin. A low, raspy groan escaped him as he closed his eyes to turn onto his back to try and stem the flow of blood but Jayde was not finished yet.

Mimicking Joker's exact action from the night before, Jayde placed one foot on either side of his waist to sit on his chest and lean forward to try and push the air out of him. Of course, he was also much heavier than her so it didn't quite work the same way. Joker still grunted, opening his eyes but only to squeeze them shut in a cringe when Jayde reached out to grab a thick tuft of his hair and pull his head back as hard as she could. Behind her, she could feel and hear the heels his shoes scraping the carpet as she yanked on his hair hard enough to pull it right out. Jayde knew that this probably hurt him far worse than anything she had done yet and she complimented herself on remembering his weakness when she needed it most. His jaw dropped slightly when she pulled even harder, leaning down.

"How _dare_ you show up here, just hours after you _rape_ me and try to act like it was nothing…" she snarled in Joker's face, just the way he had done to her. "I don't know if you remember, but you put your _belt_ around my _neck_." Jayde had to pause before continuing when she felt her voice begin to quake and she sniffed angrily when those hot tears began to gather again. "You called me a _lying slut." _She finished, finally giving in to let those tears fall down her cheeks. Joker opened his eyes a moment later when he felt the two drops of warm moisture on his neck only to find that she had stood up, releasing his hair from that machine-like grip of hers.

Joker felt a rush of cool air against the wet blood underneath his nose and running into his mouth when Jayde walked away, but when he opened his eyes to find her still standing there, his arms instinctively curled in just in time for her to bring her foot back. For not wearing any shoes, Jayde's kick was incredibly powerful, knocking most of the wind out of Joker as he rolled onto his side, panting. A sharp, throbbing pain had started in his side but he only had a second to groan about it when Jayde kicked him again, this time in the side of his face. A second later, Joker coughed with a defeated moan when he finally held up his hand somewhat weakly before it dropped to the carpet in front of him.

"Alright," he wheezed, blinking slowly. "Ok…"

Jayde breathed somewhat heavily as she stared down at the Joker, laying there on the floor, bleeding and semi-conscious, and found that she needed to walk away before she kept going. She was not sure at the time why she couldn't keep on until she knocked him out or seriously injured him but as she stepped into her bedroom to close and lock the door behind her, she leaned against it, taking a deep breath to steady her heart rate. With shaking hands, she reached up, pushing her frizzy curls away from her face as she looked down, her eyes now trained on the smear of blood on the top of her foot from the side of Joker's face. After a few seconds of being unable to tear her eyes away from it, she stepped into the bathroom to run some water in the bathtub, holding her foot out to rinse it off as her options began to run through her head.

Obviously, Joker had either come to get her because he genuinely regretted what he did or else simply came to see the aftermath of his rage since not many of them lived to tell the tale. Jayde wasn't really sure which one yet since she hadn't given Joker much of a chance to say anything when he had gotten there. At this, a small grin crept onto her face- beating him up had felt _really _good. There had been something so satisfying about watching his brown eyes roll back slightly and the way he squirmed when she grabbed his hair.

All of this was running through Jayde's mind when something else began to dawn on her…A while ago, she could remember she and Joker getting into another little fist fight and she had definitely not come off better in that situation. Beating up Joker had been surprisingly easy this time, almost as if he hadn't been defending himself at all. Jayde was certain if he had, _she _would be the one laying on the floor in her living room.

After rinsing her feet and hands, Jayde stepped out into her bedroom, wondering if Joker had left yet. There had been no noise from the other room since she had left it and Jayde was half way through opening her closet doors for something to wear that didn't have bloodstains on it when she sighed, her eyes falling onto the complete emptiness. _Oh yeah, _she thought with a heavy roll of her eyes. _All my stuff is at Joker's house._ Deciding to ignore the slowly drying stain on the very bottom of the leg of her pajama pants, Jayde grabbed a small hand towel from her bathroom to wet it slightly and step out into the living room.

The Joker was still laying there on his side on the carpet, his hands stretched out in front of him like some wounded animal. It seemed at first he did not hear her door opening so Jayde took a cautious step closer- any second he was going to jump up and she was going to pay for what she had done. Her back bent slightly as she leaned down, trying to see through Joker's messy hair if his eyes were closed and on closer inspection, she found that they were and a few of the ends of his hair moved slightly as he took deep, even breaths. Jayde sat down a second later, figuring he was harmless at this point and she crossed her legs to sit Indian style a foot or two away from where he lay, watching him.

For several long moments, Jayde sat there, debating on what to do until finally, she reached out to place the cool damp cloth on his face. Joker jumped at the contact, taking a deep breath in to clear his throat and groan as he exhaled. His eyes opened a moment later, blinking up at Jayde as he rolled onto his back, only to cough with a slight gag and roll back over onto his side to push himself to a leaning position with his elbow. For a second, Jayde backed up, thinking he was about to be sick. Instead, he coughed again, reaching out to catch it as he spit one of this back teeth into the palm of his hand. His eyes slowly moved up from the tooth to meet hers and as much as Jayde truly wanted to grin, she fought it back to rise from the carpet abruptly to walk to the door.

"Let's go," she said shortly over her shoulder as she picked up her phone and the Escalade keys Joker had dropped near the broken glass. "All of my stuff is at your house." With that, she stepped out into the hallway, deciding quickly to not wait for him but she changed her mind halfway to the stairwell and stopped, leaning up against the wall.

A few moments went by before Joker stepped out of her apartment, limping slightly as he wiped dried blood from his face and neck with the washcloth. His eyes met hers as he started following her at a safe distance, keeping his expression blank until she had rolled her eyes to turn and walk ahead of him and only then did he grin to himself with a quiet, breathless laugh. _Totally worth it…_

By the time Joker caught up with Jayde at the basement level of her apartment building, he was cringing and wincing as he walked down the stairs after her. He was almost positive by now that Jayde had broken or bruised a few of his ribs as his side kept throbbing with almost every move he made. Luckily, Tre had become incredibly good at diagnosing injuries over the years so Joker made a mental note to ask him to check it out when they got home.

When they reached the Escalade, Joker quickly patted his pockets and was about to frown but winced when he found that his face was a little too sore for that expression just then. A moment later, he looked to Jayde, remembering now that she had taken them from the floor upstairs. He held out his hand toward her as she looked over.

"I need the keys, Jayde." He said somewhat quietly. An exasperated sigh left him when Jayde took the keys out of her pocket to throw them _at _him, not to him, and they jingled lamely as they hit the side of his hip and dropped to the ground when he failed to even try and catch them. Jayde continued on her way to get in the car as Joker tilted his head back to close his eyes, praying for patience.

After groaning and wincing as he bent down to pick up the keys, Joker was finally inching into the driver's seat carefully to glance over at Jayde and find that she was glaring out the passenger window with her arms folded. A short laugh attempted to escape him but he caught it in his chest, passing it off as a cough when Jayde glanced over. As the wheels of the Escalade pulled out onto the street, Joker looked over to find her glaring off again and he sniffed a few times when he felt his nose start bleeding a little again.

"By the way, how did you know-…" he began to ask but Jayde cut him off, rolling her eyes.

"You don't think Dotcom didn't call me the second you left the house?" she snapped back so Joker resigned himself to silence, figuring that she just wasn't ready for conversation yet. Then again, neither was he…his jaw hurt _really _ bad.

The moment the Escalade had come to a stop in the garage back at the mansion twenty minutes later, Jayde got out quickly to walk ahead of Joker to the door. He was taking his time, trying to nurse his injuries the best he could until he could make it upstairs to his office. The garage door swung open before him as Jayde stepped through so he followed, cringing when he moved to take the step up to go inside.

Both Tre and Dotcom were seated at the table just across the room and looked up when Jayde stepped inside briskly followed shortly by Joker who glanced at Tre to make eye contact. Dotcom had stood up from the table and was holding his hand out to Jayde who took it, following him up the stairs until they both shot Joker highly disapproving looks as they stepped into her bedroom to shut the door. Joker sighed, after he had watched them go, resting his hands on his hips once he dropped the keys onto the table with a clatter. Tre was looking up at him, squinting slightly as he took in the sight of Joker's bruised face and the way he was leaning slightly to one side. He was about to ask a question but Joker was already speaking.

"C'mon, you gotta tell me what she did to my ribs."

He had been debating on whether or not to ask Tre for help since they had somewhat gotten into it earlier that morning but he felt slightly better about being hurt and vulnerable around his best friend when he immediately stood up and followed Joker to the stairs and into the office. With a groan, Joker closed the door behind them, walking over to the long metal table to take his vest and shirt off and flip on the examination light that hung over head. Tre glanced down at his side but hesitated.

"What did she do?" he asked but frowned when Joker suddenly growled.

"She beat my ass! What's it look like she did?" he snapped loudly, feeling slightly irritable from being in a bit of pain. A second later, he scowled as Tre laughed, shaking his head.

"I wont lie to you, bro. I'm glad she did, you had it comin' to ya." He replied, finally leaning down. Joker sighed, closing his eyes.

"Tre, shut up. Just…tell me if they're broken or not." He snapped again but practically cried out in pain a second later when Tre jabbed him with one of his knuckles right where Jayde had kicked him. A murderous scowl met Joker's face when Tre laughed again, reaching out once more to press firmly but gently on Kieron's wounded side. Joker bit his lip, trying to withstand the pressure until Tre brought his hand back and he sighed, opening his eyes. "Well? Broken?" When Tre shook his head, Joker sighed in relief.

"They're not broken but they're probably bruised pretty bad. Just…take it easy for a few days and heal up." Tre explained but it did not appear that Joker was listening as he walked over to pick up his previously discarded vest to dig in the pockets. He returned a moment later, holding out his hand to Tre, still frowning.

"She knocked one of my teeth out," he muttered, showing it to Tre as he laughed, glancing at Joker in surprise.

"Did she really? She doesn't look that-…" Tre went to reply but Joker laughed loudly, shaking his head.

"Yeah, she doesn't look it, but that girl is strong." He said, wincing as he leaned down to pick up his shirt. "-Has a _mean _right hook, too…" Just then, they both shared a loud laugh and privately, Joker took a moment to be grateful that Tre wasn't still acting disgusted by what he had done and as they both left the office to go downstairs, Joker spoke up, shaking his head. "Funny how I got punched by two different people in less than twenty four hours." He mumbled somewhat off-handedly and couldn't help but grin when Tre laughed.

Once both had made it back downstairs, Tre disappeared into his room, only to reappear moments later, holding a plastic bag and a cigar. Joker looked over from the kitchen, groaning when Tre sat down to start rolling a blunt. He shook his head, walking over with a slight limp.

"No, Tre…C'mon, I don't think my brain can handle-…" he began to say but let his voice trail off when Tre held up his hand.

"Trust me, you're gonna want to hit this." He answered wisely but it seemed Joker was still on the verge of saying no when from above them, both Joker and Tre turned to look up at the sound of Jayde's bedroom door opening. A moment later, she appeared up on the second landing, holding something in her hand before she threw it down to the bottom floor. Both Joker and Tre's eyes followed the path of Joker's belt through the air until it landed with a fairly loud clank on the floor across the room. The door slammed again as Jayde went back into her room and Joker let out a short groan, sitting down slowly at the table to rest his head in his hands.

"Fine, light it up."

Another five minutes passed before Tre had finished rolling the blunt and was now standing up from the table to follow Joker as they filed out onto the back porch. Of course, Tre moved to sit down with no problem and at first, Joker tried to do the same, but gasped slightly when his side smarted sharply. Across the table, Tre laughed, shaking his head as Joker finally lowered himself into the chair with a low groan.

"She got you good, bro." He commented, laughing as Joker rolled his eyes, reaching up to press two fingers against his nose, testing to see how tender it was.

"I let her do it." Joker stated bluntly, reaching out to take the now lit blunt from Tre as he passed it across the table. "I had to…let her know I felt bad or…whatever it was I was feeling." Tre grunted a laugh, watching Kieron take a hit from the blunt.

"Don't you think you should have actually said you were sorry?" he asked but arched an eyebrow when Joker shook his head fervently, holding his breath only to exhale a few seconds later and cough once.

"_No…_" he began, frowning at his knees. "I let her beat the shit out of me, that's enough of an apology." Joker then added, wincing when he shifted to try and find a comfortable way to sit with his bruised ribs. It grew quiet for another few seconds before Tre spoke up.

"At least Jayde is still alive…" he said in an undertone but looked up when Joker's head turned quickly to glare at him. His lips smacked once before he shook his head.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" he asked in a rather nasty tone but Tre ignored it and tilted his head to the side to squint at Joker.

"Yeah, remember Katie? Didn't exactly give her a chance to beat your ass, did ya?" Tre said, glaring back at Joker as he growled, closing his eyes, wishing desperately that he hadn't brought that up. If there was one memory that Kieron found truly hard to think about, it was that one. "That's why I was so surprised when I heard that going on last night. You _swore _you would never do that to a female again, Ki."

Joker growled, leaning forward slowly to rest his face in his hands as Tre brought up that _one time_. Katie had been nothing but a fuck buddy and although Joker had liked to pretend that that was all Jayde was to him, she was so much more…he just didn't like to admit that he had made best friends with a girl. He sat up a few moments later, blinking as he handed the blunt back to Tre.

"Yeah, Tre. I did. Ya know? I raped Katie." He finally stated, then shrugged. "Yeah, I raped her. And then I killed her! An hour later, I went back to her house and _killed_ her. And you know? I didn't regret it at all. I _still_ don't. But what's…_freaking me out_ is that I actually feel bad for doing what I did to Jayde." Across the table, Tre was nodding wisely.

"Well, it makes me feel better to hear you say that, bro." He replied, taking a deep hit from the blunt before handing it back to Joker. "Doesn't that mean you're _regretting _ it?" Joker huffed, rolling his eyes but after a second, his face grew serious again and his eyebrows furrowed.

"You know somethin'?" he started, squinting off across the patio. "I think I am. I think that's what I was feeling earlier. I think I _regret_…doing that to her." Finally, Joker felt a bit of tension in his chest fade away at saying the words, but he still could not bring himself to actually say the words 'rape' and 'Jayde' in the same sentence. It made him feel truly sick.

After finishing the blunt, Joker and Tre stood to go back inside, but only to find that Dotcom and Jayde were in the kitchen, speaking in somewhat hushed voices as they watched something cook on the stove. As the sliding glass door opened and Joker stepped inside, Jayde looked over her shoulder across the room at him but turned away quickly, looking back to Dotcom. Tre stepped in behind him so Joker took a step closer to where they stood, noticing now that Jayde had put her bushy hair into a bun on the back of her head, exposing a dark ring around her neck. His stomach turned over and although that increasingly intelligent voice in the back of his mind said not to do it, Joker walked over, wanting to get a better look.

However, when Jayde noticed him approaching, she backed up slowly until she was right against the counter, between him and Dotcom and Joker couldn't help but notice the look in her eyes as he moved closer. She looked slightly terrified for a second or two so Joker softened his gait until he had reached her.

It seemed Jayde was hesitant to make eye contact with him at first, which was perfect since all he really wanted to see was how deep and dark the mark around her neck was from his belt, as if trying to gauge how tightly he had it pulled. Up close, he could see that it was a fairly faint bruise, lined with a raw red mark that made him feel somewhat nauseas when he realized it had rubbed from his movement. His hand reached up a second later to just barely touch his finger to her neck, but he jumped when Jayde gasped, shoving him away from her before she turned on a dime and walked over to the stairs to go up and back into her room. Joker sighed, hanging his head as he leaned against the counter once she had gone and Dotcom looked up at him, shaking his head.

"You better give her some space, Joker, I'm serious. She has half a mind to pack all of her stuff up and move back to her apartment." He warned, giving Joker a stern glare over the tops of his glasses and he rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest as he stared up at Jayde's closed door.

It seemed so unfair that she had to be hating his guts when all he wanted was to go kiss it and make it better, try to make her forget about what he had done. Jayde was absolutely essential to Joker's upcoming plans but what was more, he couldn't really wrap his mind around not having her there at the house with him everyday so it was crucial that he play his cards right and win her back over. As luck would have it, Joker could be very charming and persuasive when he wanted to be…but then again, Jayde was pretty much the only person who could see right through him.

A/N: LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! = ] I love your reviews!- QoM


	14. I Put A Spell On You

Jayde woke the following morning with a start, jumping slightly as her eyes opened, ending her nightmare abruptly. She sighed, closing her eyes again, thankful to have woken up and now be separate from reliving the events of the night before last in her mind for what felt like the hundredth time. Hearing herself called a lying slut over and over was getting really old, really fast.

Unsurprisingly, Jayde had not eaten much the day before but now, as she rose from the bed to put some clothes on and brush her teeth, her stomach was practically talking. After glancing at the time to find it was still rather early, Jayde walked over to the door but paused, her eyes again falling onto those two dark red stains on the carpet. She stood there for a few moments, staring at them until she finally walked away, making a note of it to tell Joker.

Out on the landing, once she had made it there, Jayde glanced down at the bottom floor, only to roll her eyes and start to turn to go back into her room. A second later, she stopped, frowning. Why should she have to hide in her room every time she wanted to go into a room that Joker was in? After all, _she _had nothing to feel bad about. If anything, he should be the one hesitant to enter a room with _her _in it. With a new resolve and her nose in the air slightly, Jayde walked over to the stairs to go down.

Down at the table, Joker and Tre were seated, both reading, both silent and both eating cereal with a glass of orange juice. At first, it seemed they had been so focused on reading that they failed to hear her bedroom door open but as she approached, Tre glanced over before Joker copied him a moment after. Jayde tried hard not to look at Joker and she succeeded for the most part, even though she could still feel him watching her. A second later, he looked back down at the folded newspaper in front of him as though she were not even there. Tre, however, nodded his head at her.

"Ay, girl." He greeted her in his usual manner, taking a sip of his orange juice as Jayde walked over toward them.

"Hi, Tre. Good morning." She replied, her tone casual and friendly and by then, she had walked right up to the table, glancing at Joker as he continued to read. When she moved to pick up his glass of orange juice, however, he looked up slowly, watching with squinted eyes as she brought it to her lips only to spit in it and set it back down in front of him. Joker let his hand fall onto the table with a thud as she walked away, looking over at Tre with his eyebrows raised as if to say 'See?' His calm best friend was grinning but shook his head at Joker as if silently communicating that he was supposed to just take it.

A moment later, after Jayde had stepped outside onto the porch to join Dotcom, both Joker and Tre looked over when the sliding glass door opened again and Jayde stepped back inside with one hand on her hip. Her eyebrows raised when she made eye contact with Joker.

"Oh, and you need to take care of the bloodstains on my carpet," she snapped before turning abruptly to go back outside again, leaving Joker to clench his fist with an aggravated groan while Tre laughed at his friend being punished.

Outside on the patio, Jayde had just lit a cigarette when Dotcom looked over, exhaling a thin stream of smoke through his lips as he leaned back in the chair, chuckling quietly.

"Joker told me this morning that you knocked one of his teeth out." he said, only to laugh harder when Jayde nodded, grinning proudly at him. "You should ask him if you can keep it." He went on to suggest only for Jayde to roll her eyes.

"I know, I should have it mounted on a trophy or something."

The porch fell silent for several long seconds after their attempt to make some sort of humor from the huge riff in Jayde and Joker's now broken 'friendship' until finally Dotcom looked over, clearing his throat slightly. If Jayde hadn't been staring off into space, she would have noticed Dotcom watching her but once she finally did and looked over to meet his stare, he asked, "So what are you going to do?"

A slight frown met Jayde's face. "What do you mean, 'what am I going to do'?" she asked, and Dotcom shrugged in response.

"I mean, are you going to keep staying here? Or…" he finally asked and for several moments, Jayde paused, trying not to grin when she felt her heart warm slightly at Dotcom's apparent sadness at the thought of her 'moving out'. A second later, she shrugged, looking back out over the patio.

Truthfully, she didn't want to move back to her apartment, and yes, she would like to keep staying at the house, but now that things were so broken and useless with the Joker, it seemed as though it were rather pointless now. In all honesty, the only reason she had moved in there in the first place was because deep down, in the very bottomest bottom of her heart, Jayde had started to let herself believe that she and Joker could end up together. That had been the main drive behind her wanting to live so closely with him. But now, it seemed as though the close quarters had driven them away from each other in the most drastic way possible. For the time being, Jayde nodded at Dotcom.

"Yeah, I'm going to stay here." She said at first, but then continued. "But I do _not _trust him anymore and I don't really know if I ever will again, to be honest, Dotcom."

Several minutes later, after both cigarettes had gone out, Jayde and Dotcom stood from the outside table to head back inside. Joker and Tre were still seated at the table, but as Dotcom walked over to the stairs to go up and change his clothes as he was still wearing pajama pants, Jayde went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Even though she had yet to make a pot on her own at this house, Jayde knew how to use an electric brewer so after locating the already ground coffee in the cabinet, she started searching then for the coffee filters. She had never seen where Dotcom kept them but after looking through a few cabinets, her eyes finally showed her the small blue box, high up on a shelf above her. Without even trying first, Jayde knew that there was no way she could reach them without a chair.

A noise over her shoulder told her that Joker had just entered the kitchen and was now dumping out his spit-laced orange juice in the sink behind her. She ignored him and rose onto her toes to reach up as high as she could toward the box, only to groan slightly when her fingers fell short by about four full inches. Her eyes rolled when she realized how stupid she had probably looked even trying to reach a box that high but the moment she went to turn to go get a chair, she jumped when Joker appeared next to her, looking up, scowling at the box.

His arm reached up a second later, easily grabbing the box of filters to bring it down and hand it to her without a word. She took it from him somewhat slowly, a bit distracted by this random act of kindness and for a half of a moment, she considered telling him 'thank you', but she held it back and looked up, only to find that Joker had already walked away and was now trotting up the stairs to disappear into his office.

For most of the day, Jayde stayed clear of Joker, although she didn't see very much of him, surprisingly. For several hours that morning, he remained locked in his office and only came down once to get a glass of water, then returned promptly, closing the door behind him. Jayde had rolled her eyes at this, knowing that he was trying to give her some space and although the sight of him still made her blood boil, she appreciated the fact that he was being somewhat respectful of her and the distance she so obviously needed from him.

So when Jayde wasn't outside smoking with Dotcom, she spent most of her time that day in her room until about five o'clock that evening when she had just come back inside from out on the porch. She had just made it to the top of the stairs and walked down her hallway when she jumped with a short gasp as she turned the corner into her room. There was the Joker, sitting Indian style on the carpet, just staring at the dried blood stains with his chin in his hand and his elbow on his knee. He looked up as she appeared in the door way.

For a split second, Joker tried staring at her eyes, hoping she would accidentally make eye contact with him but she was now too busy watching the stain-lifting chemical bubble and foam away on the bloodstains. When Joker spoke a moment later, Jayde jumped again slightly, blinking several times to look down at him.

"It's probably going to be a while before you can have your-" he had started to say but Jayde turned abruptly in the middle of his sentence and walked away down the hall, leaving Joker to toss his hands dejectedly. This was proving to be more difficult than he had originally estimated.

The sun had just gone down when Joker finally left Jayde's room, sweating slightly but feeling accomplished and even a little bit proud of himself for mastering the art of making blood stains disappear. This skill had come in handy over the years and Joker grinned to himself as he walked down the hallway toward his bedroom. He could remember so clearly the man who had taught him all about crime scene clean up, the same man that the police paid to come to old crime scenes and do all the dirty work. Among his memories of the experience, Joker's mind had stumbled onto his favorite and he laughed out loud as he reminisced. Once Kieron had learned just about everything there was to know, he stabbed the man to death then used his methods on his very own crime scene. The memory still made him giggle quietly at his own cleverness.

After a shower, Joker found himself sitting outside on the back patio, staring off into the dark field and further forest out behind the house, wondering fleetingly if there was anything out there, watching him back. This thought forced the hair on the back of his neck to stand up and he leaned forward with his elbows on the table to rest his chin in his hands, blinking several times when his eyes and the distant trees started playing tricks on him. He was positive there was nothing out there _watching _him, but just pretending to himself that there was made him feel anxious and he liked it. It made him feel less human in a sense, and more like a predator when he thought like this. It made him want to go hunting…

When Joker was in this sort of mode, it appeared that his mind was ready for anything and when Tre suddenly slid open the glass door behind him, he did not jump, he did not even move nor take his eyes from the distant field and trees. Tre stopped just next to him, leaning down slightly as if to see if Kieron had fallen asleep with his eyes open and sitting up but Joker blinked a moment later, bringing his gaze up to meet his friend's

"Everything alright there, bud?" Tre asked a second later, taking out his pack of cigarettes to sit down across the table from him when Joker grunted a laugh, accepting one when it was offered. He lit it, shaking his head.

"Jayde hates me." he blurted but looked over at Tre a second later, instantly wishing he hadn't been that honest. But he really couldn't help it; there was something about his best friend that just pulled honesty out of him, even if he didn't want to let it go. Across the table, Tre nodded slowly, taking a deep drag from the cigarette he had lit.

"For good reason, man. Girls don't appreciate what you did, and thats the _truth_." He said in a rather sage sort of way, then pointed at Joker with the cigarette in his fingers. "You're a lucky son of a bitch that she's even still in the same house as you, to be honest, bro." At this point, Joker abandoned all pretense of feeling like he had this situation under control so he leaned forward on the table, looking across to Tre.

"So what do I _do_?" he asked earnestly, glancing inside to make sure no one was approaching. It made Joker uncomfortable to even think of asking someone for advice, but seeing as to how this was practically his brother, he shook off the nervous anxiety he felt at appearing vulnerable. On the other side of the table, Tre was shrugging.

"There's nothin' you really can do, man. Just gotta let her…heal or whatever. I guarantee all she sees and thinks of when she sees you is what you did to her. I mean, its only been a day, Ki. It's gonna take longer than that for her to come 'round again." Tre shrugged again, ashing his cigarette. There was a long, silent pause where Joker apparently thought that Tre was about to continue. When he did not, Joker shrugged his own shoulders, tossing his hands at Tre's 'lack' of help.

"So I should just-…" he went on to say but Tre cut across him, shaking his head.

"Man, you're the smartest cat I know, but I swear to _god, _you are so stupid with this girl..." He began but then went on. "_Leave her alone."_ Tre continued, placing his two hands on either side of his mouth to magnify his voice in Joker's direction. With that, Joker rolled his eyes with another toss of his hand as he leaned back in the chair, shaking his head slightly at how Tre was making this seem like the most simple task when to Joker this was truly uncharted territory. He had never tried to make amends with one of his victims, especially not with one of his…female victims. Even though Joker could count on one hand the number of girls he had 'taken advantage' of, there was only one who had lived through the experience and that girl was currently upstairs in her room with the door closed. What Tre was saying made sense but that didn't necessarily mean it was going to be easy.

But over the following week, Joker made himself as sparse as possible at the house, and when not out meeting with different people regarding matters of interest, he was either in his office or lurking about outside in the garage. He rarely saw Jayde lately but he had learned quickly that she was one of the best players of the 'silent game' he had ever met. Several times, when he had gone to say something to her, no matter what it was, the moment he opened his mouth, she would either turn and walk away or get up and leave the room. So by now, four or five days after their 'incident', Joker learned to just keep his mouth shut when she was around and to ignore her when she spoke to the people in the room in general.

Even though she was not speaking to him, Jayde had also mastered the art of giving dirty looks and always spared one when she caught Joker looking at her. So from this, he had then learned to just not look at her, unless she wanted him to lose his shit again and go grab her to tell her to fucking _stop it._ Every time this thought crossed his mind, Joker had to take a deep breath and close his eyes, knowing that if he were to go tell her to cut it out with the eye rolling or _he _was going to cut _them _out, it would set their 'road to recovery' back dramatically.

Now, nearly a week after that one night, Joker found himself seated at the table downstairs, leaned over a stack of papers and blueprints that he had now spread over almost half of the long eight-chair table. His head was bowed as he jotted down a few things in that black notebook but he could still hear the movie playing on the other side of the room although he was not exactly listening. His three 'roommates' were sitting on the double jointed couch across the room from him watching what sounded like the Godfather. When he had come downstairs, he glanced down to notice that Jayde was sitting in the corner of it comfortably and he had to try hard not to grin when he remembered her telling him once, seemingly ages ago that the corner was her favorite place to sit. Of course, he had chosen to ignore this instead of thinking for the thousandth time back to how she used to…well, talk to him.

Jayde had glanced up when she heard the rustling of papers over behind her at the table but refrained from looking over her shoulder as there was a fairly good chance he was staring over at the back of her head just then. She could safely assume that he was doing what he always did now a days and working on that monster plan of his that Jayde still had yet to hear about.

Truthfully, Jayde had seen to it personally to do everything she could to avoid direct contact with Joker over the past week and it seemed as though it had finally worked as he had given up completely on trying to make any sort of conversation with her. Sure, she caught him staring a few times but then again, that was nothing unusual from the way things were before everything had happened. It just seemed like Joker was waiting on tenterhooks for the day when she turned and finally said something to him.

Jayde could feel her eyes beginning to grow heavy as she stretched her arms out over her head, groaning slightly. The movie was not over yet, but she had already seen it and figured Dotcom and Tre would not miss her presence all that much if she got up and went to bed. So after waiting a few more minutes through her favorite part, she stood up slowly, stretching again with a yawn.

"I'm gonna go to bed." she stated, glancing at Dotcom as he looked up from the tv. "Good night, Tre. 'Night, Dotcom." She then said to both of them and although Jayde normally would have just said something like 'goodnight, guys,' she had started developing the habit of saying it to both of them individually so Joker wouldn't get the idea that she was speaking to him as well.

As she rounded the couch, she noticed that Joker had not lifted his head to watch her walk up the stairs, but that he was still hunched slightly, scowling down at his notebook as he wrote something. Mildly surprised at this, Jayde started to climb the stairs, yawning again as she did, figuring that he had finally gotten the point. The hallway was dark and Jayde could feel sleepiness begin to creep up on her as she walked toward her room, but as she reached the door, something, and she wasn't quite sure what, made her turn and look down at Joker at the table one last time.

To her great surprise, Joker was now looking up, staring at the exact spot where she stood and she noticed his eyes squint slightly when he brought his hand up. At first, Jayde wasn't sure what he was doing but a second later, he held up a piece of paper from his notebook that he had written the words 'Good Night' on in large, black letters. Before Jayde could even catch herself, a small grin jumped onto her face and even though she was upstairs and him, down, she was absolutely positive he had seen her smile as he went back to what he was doing, smirking to himself.

When Jayde's eyes first opened the next morning, she immediately noticed a difference in the way she felt but at first, upon thinking about it, she wasn't sure what it was that was making her feel that way. In a sense, she felt more rested, more refreshed than she had in a while and just as she was rolling over to the look at the time, it dawned on her- it had been the first night she had slept through without having a dream in over a week. At first, Jayde wondered why it had been that she didn't dream the night before, but after thinking about it too hard, she rose from the bed, grinning, deciding quickly that she didn't care why. For the moment, she was just happy to feel rested and not immediately cranky upon waking…that was until her eyes fell onto a piece of paper pinned to the inside of her door with a small, short knife.

A long, slow sigh escaped her as she crossed the room, tilting her head to the side slightly when she drew close enough to make out the small, messy slanted writing. The words had been written one line at a time down the middle of the page. It read,

"_I know you're still mad, I would be too._

_And you hate me, but I miss you._

_I've got an errand to run and it might not be fun_

_But I need a hot date and you're just the one._

_At eleven o'clock, on the dot,_

_Meet me downstairs, wearing the best that you've got._

_We don't have to speak, but it would be neat,_

_if you would agree to accompany me._

_-Joe Kerr"_

Another great sigh left Jayde when her eyes reached the bottom and for several long moments, she stood there, staring at the words 'Joe Kerr', blinking slowly as she weighed out her options. As much as Jayde would have loved to have just crumpled up the note and go find him to tell her she wasn't going, Joker was still _kind of _ her boss…of sorts…in a strange way…maybe not really. But Jayde had a feeling that if she were to march downstairs and tell him to fuck off, his patient streak would wear off instantly and she might severely regret her former pride. And besides, it _was_ going out somewhere and Jayde could definitely use some fresh air and time away from the house…She just hoped there wouldn't be much conversation involved.

By the time Jayde had finished dressing, brushed her teeth and forced herself to put some makeup on, the time was approaching eleven so she figured it was also time to face the inevitable and walked out into the hallway. Upon leaving the room, she had pulled Joker's knife out of the back of her door and was now folding it down when she stepped out onto the upper landing. Her eyes flew to the bottom floor where Joker had his back turned, leaned over the table as he looked down at what appeared to be a large map. Apparently, he had not heard her door open so Jayde paused, watching him from the shadows of the second floor. After a few moments, he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, tossing some of his hair away that had fallen in his face.

Apparently, Joker had meant it when he said to wear some nice clothes as he was now dressed, waiting for her, in black, pin-striped pants and a long black coat that nearly mimicked his purple one. Jayde had only seen this ensemble of his once before and that had been the fateful day when he had been arrested nearly four months prior. Fleetingly, she wondered how he had gotten the coat back. Jayde continued to watch, holding her breath when Joker half-turned, scowling at the rest of the room as if he knew someone was watching him. A second later, Jayde felt her stomach twist up when she noticed that, for the first time since the day he had been arrested, the Joker was finally wearing his grease-paint makeup again and looking more evil than ever.

Jayde jumped with a soft gasp when he suddenly turned, the black rings around his eyes now staring right up to the corner of the hallway where she stood, leaned against the wall as if hoping to blend in. The red makeup on his scars shifted slightly when he smirked, turning completely to lean against the table behind him, practically sitting on it as his arms crossed over his chest. Luckily, since Jayde was wearing heels, she could look down at what she was doing instead of having to watch him stare as she started walking to the stairs.

Joker felt his stomach disappear completely when Jayde rounded that corner at the top of the stairs and he found quickly that he had to look away for a moment to warn himself to behave over the next hour or two. He looked back a second later, guiltily letting his eyes wander while Jayde was focused on not falling down the stairs in those oh, so tall heels of hers. It almost seemed as though Jayde knew exactly what he had hoped she would wear and was now walking…strutting toward him in that curve-hugging, knee-length, black dress of hers, the somewhat modest one with criss-crossing straps in the back that came down _just _low enough to show the top of that perfect dip that ran down her back along her spine. Goosebumps broke out all over his arms when Jayde's eyes rose from her feet to meet his gaze as she reached the bottom step but Joker shook it off, amazed that this girl still had that effect on him, even after everything that had happened between them.

At first, as Jayde stepped off the bottom stair, Joker felt a slight pang of panic shoot through him when he realized he wasn't really sure what to say and had been too distracted by watching her to think of something. Before he had the chance to even open his mouth, however, Jayde had walked up to him, only to pause for a second to place his knife in the palm of his hand. His eyes glanced down to see what it was but by the time he looked back up, Jayde had already moved on and was walking to the garage door, her heels clicking softly on the floors. He frowned, but stayed put, turning his head to look over.

"Ya know, Jayde, if you want to go with me, you gotta talk to me at some point..." He said, surprised by the change in his own voice when he finally found it. Across the room, now standing by the door, Jayde turned, her wave of bouncy curls following her movement as she looked over to arch an eyebrow at him. Joker felt those previous goosebumps come back to tickle his arms again.

"Who says I wanna go with you?" she answered with a question only to turn and step outside, closing the door behind her as Joker laughed, trotting over to follow her out into the garage.

Once the Escalade had bounced out onto the street in front of the huge house, Jayde glanced over, letting her eyes fall up and down Joker's side profile a few times, trying to decide if she disliked him any less with the makeup on…she wasn't quite sure yet. Her eyes rolled as she looked away, suddenly remembering what she had decided to ask him.

"So I noticed your poem was on the _inside _of my door." She commented rather blandly, continuing to gaze through the passenger side window at the passing trees and fields. In the driver's seat, Joker blinked, looking over from the road momentarily.

_Fuck._ He cursed silently at himself for nearly forgetting how observant and smart Jayde was. In all honesty, he hadn't even thought of a lie to tell her when and if she noticed the location of his note. He cleared his throat, looking back to the road.

"I figured you wouldn't miss it if I put it there." He said, and this part was true, however he elaborated with an extravagant falsehood moments later. "I wrote it downstairs and snuck into your room after you were asleep and put it there. And _then _I left." _This _was a lie. He had not actually written the poem downstairs, but rather in his mind when he had snuck into her room at around two that morning, creeping over silently to her bed to sit down on the carpet next to it where Jayde's sleeping figure had been facing. He could remember resting his chin on the bed as he sat indian style, facing her, watching her sleep for almost an hour. Her face had been so peaceful, her lips parted ever so slightly to show off her perfect white teeth just behind them. Joker had found himself willing to trade just about anything for her to let him kiss her again, even just one time.

At the present, the now fully awake Jayde was nodding slowly. "Mmhmm…" she hummed as if she did not completely believe him and Joker couldn't help but grin as he switched hands on the steering wheel.

After nearly twenty minutes of silence, with nothing but the sound of rushing wind, Jayde began to notice that as soon as they had entered Gotham, Joker had turned down a side street and suddenly, she had no idea where they were. Through the windows, Jayde could hear the wailing of seagulls and before she could ask a question, they reached and crossed a small bridge that led them to a large dock over looking the bay. An absolutely massive warehouse loomed up to the right of the car, casting the small road in shadow as they drove along somewhat slowly.

Beside her, Joker was scowling through the windshield, wrinkling lines into his previously perfect makeup as he was obviously looking for something, only to spot it a few moments later and smirk to himself. After swinging the truck out, Joker backed up into a makeshift parking spot still well within the shade of the massive warehouse behind them before putting it in park to look over at her. Jayde tore her eyes from the massive semi truck pulled up to the warehouse off to the side to look back at him as he reached into the inside pocket of his black coat to produce his phone. After glancing at it, he grinned widely at Jayde, leaning toward her slightly.

"Ready?" he asked rather excitedly, but when Jayde only rolled her eyes, he shrugged, opening the door. "Of course you are!" he then answered for her enthusiastically, pausing to take off his coat and place it on the driver's seat when he noticed how warm it was outside by the water. Jayde was rounding the edge of the Cadillac carefully in her heels, cautious not to step in even a small crack and trip. As she walked over more confidently to join him once the ground had evened out, Joker had been debating on whether or not to offer her his arm to hold on to but took a gamble on it anyway and extended his elbow out slightly, hoping she would slip her hand into the crook of it. However, she did not but instead let her hand come to rest on his forearm, gripping from the outside with one hand in some sort of classical old fashioned sort of way. Fleetingly, Joker was reminded of a classy mobster couple wearing their black 'business' clothes on their way to a hit and he smirked a bit harder to himself.

With the Joker walking next to her, Jayde noticed from the corner of her eye how much taller she was with her heels on and part of her wondered why she didn't wear them more often. Of course, in another hour or so, her throbbing feet and legs would probably be reminding her loudly. A soft jingling sound came from Joker with every step he took and at first, Jayde wondered if he had change in his pocket or something, but upon glancing down, she noticed a silver chain hanging from Joker's dark gray vest pocket into the pocket of his pinstriped pants and it clanked quietly against his hip every stride. She rolled her eyes slightly, not even wanting to know what was attached to either end.

After walking along the water for a ways, Joker steered Jayde to the right slightly, walking over to that huge semi-truck where a short, balding man in a suit came striding around the edge of it, laughing to someone unseen. The moment his beady little eyes fell onto the Joker, Jayde noticed them shift to the right slightly before flickering up and down her curvy frame. He beamed a second later.

"Ah! Mister Joker!" he called out, extending one chubby hand as he walked up to them. "So glad you could make it, I've got business to talk with you." The short man explained as he shook hands with the tall Joker. A second later, his gaze had shifted to Jayde but a moment after that, he looked back to Joker as if she had been a figment of his imagination. His eyebrows raised. "Shall we?" he then asked, motioning toward a small door off to the side of the huge warehouse but Joker shook his head, grinning that shitty, evil grin of his.

"Anything you have to offer me, you can do so right here," he growled in return, but dropped his arm a second later to catch Jayde's hand in his, only to bring it to his lips and kiss a few of her fingers lightly. "Dearest? Leave us for a few minutes, wont ya?" He released Jayde's hand grinning widely at the way she was glaring at him. His head turned again to glare down at Mancino Celini. "We wont be long."

Refraining from another hefty eye roll, Jayde turned, holding her shoulders straight to accent that curve of her back, knowing without even looking that both men were now watching the back of her as she walked away. As she stepped down toward the edge of the dock where the water met concrete, Jayde sighed when a gentle breeze blew by her, moving her hair just slightly and she had no problem admitting then that Joker could not have chosen a better day to come to this particular place. The sun was high in the middle of the sky as the time reached noon and it was warm, but not hot; the breeze made it absolutely perfect. Jayde stopped at the edge of the water, leaning on one of her heels as she stared out across the wide channel to the tall, peeling water towers and old shut down factories with broken windows on the far bank. It was not beautiful in any sense of the word but something about it, possibly the derelict aspect of it, Jayde found irresistibly comforting in a way. A few seagulls soared by over head, screaming, adding to the atmosphere nicely and Jayde couldn't help but take a few more steps along the edge of the sea wall, gazing down into the water hoping to see a few fish…But then again, how could anything live in this polluted, dirty city water?

Mancino Celini was so busy running his mouth about how much he would require for the use of thirty of his trucks and about eight tons of his…product that he failed to notice that the Joker was only half listening anymore and was half busy watching the back of Jayde as she slowly ambled along the dock. Celini had just said something about wanting an extra thousand for the use of his men as well but Joker was now admiring the way Jayde's heels made her appear so tall and lean and the way her legs looked so delicate from the knees down. He was _just _about to imagine how they looked from the knees _up _when he suddenly blinked, turning his head back and tearing his attention from his super model of a 'date'.

"Listen, all I know is that I need everything right here," he pointed at the ground, raising his eyebrows as he leaned down slightly toward the short man. "- on April the fifteenth and if you'd be so kind as to meet me that night, we can discuss payments and…things like that." He then finished with extra emphasis on the end of his word. After reaching into his vest pocket, Joker produced his small silver pocket watch on the end of the long chain, flipping it open to glance at the time before stowing it away again. His hand reappeared a moment later, holding a joker playing card. "Here's my _card_, in case you have a change of uh…heart."

Their meeting was coming to such an abrupt end that it seemed Mancino wasn't quite able to keep up and was just stammering a few words when Joker reached down to grab his hand to shake it a few times.

"Until the fifteenth, Man_cino_." Joker finally said and turned to walk away, sliding his hands into his pinstriped pockets with a grin stretching that red line across his face. Jayde was still down at the water, now stopped and leaned on one of her heels with the other propped just gently against the other, showing off the red underside of the shoe. A breeze ruffled his hair as he approached and he just had enough time to reach up and move it away from his face before he reached out, letting his black glove slide gently onto the small of her back. To his great surprise, she did not jump but simply turned to look up at him, taking a half-step back, away from his touch. Joker ignored this for the time being, smirking down at her when he noticed a thousand questions lurking behind her eyes. He held up one finger when she opened her mouth to start asking.

"You get one question and one answer." He suddenly said, his smirk expanding when he noticed Jayde's eyes narrow and one of her eyebrows arched. There was a prolonged pause after his words during which Joker was absolutely positive Jayde was trying to think of the most general, broad question she could possibly ask. A moment later, she crossed her arms.

"What was that about?" she asked finally in reference to the meeting Joker just had and he grinned, mimicking her by folding his arms. The black rings around his eyes widened slightly when he leaned down only to glance to both sides as if making sure no one was listening.

"I'm gonna turn water to blood." He answered as simply as he could knowing how it would infuriate Jayde and sure enough a second later, she huffed, tossing her arms.

"Well, how are-…" she went to say but Joker cut her off, shaking his head.

"Ah! One question, 'member?" He laughed when Jayde rolled her eyes, slumping her shoulders a bit when he offered his arm to her to continue walking along the sea wall. Luckily this time, she fit her arm in between his elbow and right side, gripping his upper arm. Joker felt like drowning himself in the water just off the pier when he felt his stomach flutter uncomfortably, but he resisted the urge, realizing it was leagues better than her spitting in his orange juice.

It fell quiet for a few minutes, both of them just walking along, Jayde busy watching a few boats go by on the water, wondering if they could see her walking on the arm of the Joker, and he, busy wondering if it was a horribly stupid idea to bring up what he had been meaning to tell her. He glanced over, watching Jayde's half-squinted eyes from the sunlight and found that there was probably no better a time than this to say it since she had only _just _ started talking to him again. This way, he wouldn't have gotten used to the sound of her voice again and therefore would not miss it as much if she put him back on silent treatment. Luckily, Jayde had stopped walking and was now watching a few seagulls diving at the water before them, so Joker stopped as well, releasing her hand from his arm to slide his own hands into his pockets.

The moment Joker turned to face her, Jayde felt her stomach twist up into tiny knots and she sincerely hoped he wasn't about to bring up something that would make her upset. Their current surroundings were really so relaxing and strangely beautiful and Jayde had _almost_ gotten over the fact that she was really walking next to him with her hand on his arm. She turned to face him when he took a deep breath.

"Ya know, since you haven't really been speaking to me lately, I haven't had it in me to tell you this but…" he paused, glancing to the side out at the water and Jayde tried hard not to grin even with her nerves. She loved it when he didn't know how to say what he was thinking. "I just…I don't make _promises, _Jayde." He finally went on to say, reaching up to comb some of his acid green hair from his white grease painted face. "But if I _know_it's something I'm perfectly capable of doing, then…I'm not as…hesitant." He paused, arching an eyebrow down at her as he shook his head. "Does that make sense?"

At first, Jayde wanted to flat out say no, but she was starting to follow his line of reasoning so she encouraged him instead. "So…" she started back up for him, leaning forward slightly with her arms still crossed as Joker tossed his arms, glancing all around as if thinking that something else could say it for him.

"So…I'm _trying_ to say that I _promise_ I will never do what I did to you again." He finally admitted as honestly as he could, exhaling once the words were out and he felt a weight lift off of his mind. "I just-…" he went on to say but stopped when he found that there really was nothing else he could add; he had said everything already.

Jayde stared up at him, glancing from one of his dark eyes to the other, admiring momentarily how controversial this seemed. Here was the Joker, in full intimidate-mode with his crazy evil makeup on and yet basically swearing to Jayde that he would never hurt her like that again. Was this his version of an apology? Glancing down at her feet, Jayde finally unfolded her arms to link her hands together in front of her. When she looked back up, she found that Joker was watching her, scowling down and only once her eyes met his again did his expression soften slightly.

"My feet hurt." She finally said, grinning a bit sheepishly when Joker laughed, reaching out to drape his arm around her in that somewhat friendly way with his wrist rested on her shoulder.

"Let's get outta here, hm?" With a gentle tug, he turned her away from the water, glancing down at her. "But just for the record, _I_ think you look stunning today." He added, laughing breathlessly when Jayde rolled her eyes, swatting at his side with the back of her hand.

"Please, Joker. You know sucking up doesn't always make things better." She chimed, glancing up when she noticed that he had walked her all the way to the far side of the Escalade and was now opening the passenger door for her to climb in.

"It's not sucking up if it's the truth, doll." He then answered, winking quickly with his left eye, flashing that strangely charming smile of his before closing the door to walk around.

For the rest of that day, Joker and Jayde kept safe distances from each other, both feeling the slightest bit awkward about their conversation earlier. Upon arriving back at the house, Jayde had immediately taken her heels off and trotted over to the sliding glass doors to go out and join Dotcom when he looked over his shoulder eagerly as if dying to know where she had been with the 'boss'. This left Joker by himself to make a decision.

Since he hadn't been to sleep yet, having been up all night plotting and scheming, writing his stupid poem and watching Jayde sleep, he could feel a huge wave of drowsiness threaten to overtake him. The thought of a nap was tempting to say the least, but now that Jayde was away from him, Joker could now reflect upon the figures Mancino Celini had given him. Eventually, the staggering amount of work and planning Joker still had to do threatened to consume him, so without giving himself time to change his mind, he trotted upstairs to disappear into his office and shut the door behind him.

At around seven that evening, Jayde frowned when she glanced up at the second floor for what seemed like the fifth time in ten minutes. Dotcom was making that romesco sauce again for a pasta dish and by now, Jayde was growing a little surprised that Joker had not surfaced from his office yet. Normally, or…_usually, _Joker would have come downstairs at that point, sniffing the air when the scent of Dotcom's cooking started to permeate the entire house, but surprisingly, he had not come out of his office now in almost four hours. Earlier, he had come downstairs, for a can of Dr. Pepper from the fridge which struck Jayde as odd even then; the Joker was not normally one for soda. All of this Jayde was wondering when she realized that it was pretty stupid of her to even be thinking about him in the first place so she hopped up onto the counter to watch Dotcom cook for a while.

Before too long, Tre came into the kitchen from the living room once his show had ended and was now reaching into the freezer for some ice when he glanced over at her. Jayde caught him a second later and he looked away only to walk over to retrieve a glass.

"Where did you two go earlier?" he asked so randomly that at first, Jayde wasn't sure he was talking to her. But he was looking right at her so she glanced at Dotcom before back to him, shrugging.

"I don't really know. He met up with some guy at these docks and said something about turning water to blood…or something?" she practically asked as if afraid of giving the wrong answer but she noticed quickly that Tre had glanced at Dotcom momentarily.

"Hm." He responded, taking a sip of his water to walk away and leave Jayde more confused than ever. She turned back to Dotcom, raising her eyebrows.

"You gotta tell me what he's planning." She practically whispered but frowned when Dotcom shook his head.

"No way! You tryin' to get me killed?"

After a perfectly delicious dinner that Jayde was positive Joker would have loved, she frowned when she noticed that his office door was still closed and he had been up there for so long that it was getting somewhat weird at this point. Again, after thinking this, Jayde scoffed at herself, rolling her eyes as she trotted upstairs to her room with Dotcom. She didn't _care_ what Joker was doing in his office. Just because they had spoken earlier that day did _not _mean she was in any way _over_ what he had done. She just didn't find him _quite _ as awful…

After both she and Dotcom had settled on a movie from his collection, they popped it in to her dvd player and climbed onto her bed to watch. Admittedly, Jayde was a little tired and Dotcom kept yawning but it was still rather early and neither of them wanted to be up at the crack of dawn when Joker was at his most irritable. So they sat up against the pillows, knowing that laying down in her comfortable bed meant falling asleep.

Nearly an hour later, the movie was about three-quarters of the way through when Dotcom yawned again, stretching his arms out. Glancing at her alarm clock, he blinked hard a few times, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes. Jayde looked over, watching as he stood up.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed, hun, I can hardly keep my eyes open." He admitted, half-grinning at Jayde when she caught his previous yawn and brought her hand up to stifle it.

"Yeah, I'm probably going to pass out pretty soon." She replied, sinking further into her pillows. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

"'Night."

With Dotcom now gone, Jayde felt as though there were no point in finishing the movie, especially when she was honestly pretty tired, even though she had not done much that day. Earlier, she had changed out of the black dress into jeans and a t-shirt but was now over at her closet, pulling from it a pair of pajama pants, thinking fleetingly of how much she missed her thin white ones that Joker had…destroyed. After dressing in the pants and a long-sleeved shirt, Jayde brushed her teeth but was halfway through when her mind again took her back to Joker to force her to wonder if he was still in his office. The time was nearing eleven o'clock and it seemed strange for him to _still _ be in there, after all this time. It seemed like a bad idea at first, but there wasn't really anything he could do to scare her anymore so she ventured out into the dark hallway, glancing down.

A small sliver of blue light was peeking out from underneath the door to Joker's office as it remained closed and Jayde frowned. So he _was _still in there…but what was he doing with the lights off? That familiar sense of foreboding curiosity began to sneak up on her but Jayde beat it to the punch and started walking down the hallway until she was close enough to reach out and turn the knob of the office door as slowly and silently as she could. The element of surprise was absolutely crucial with the Joker, even though he was incredibly hard to sneak up on.

Upon first opening the door, Jayde was not sure what she was looking at since the lights in his office were off, the only thing lit being the computer screen on the other side of the room on the desk against the far wall. Jayde squinted slightly, trying to make out what the giant lump was just in front of the light, but after taking a few silent steps into the room, it happened so fast, she couldn't even try to stop the grin that jumped to her face. The Joker had fallen asleep with his face on his desk and was now snoring fairly loudly.

The closer Jayde got, the harder she grinned until she was right up next to him, staring down at his peaceful features rested on top of his arms on top of his cluttered desk. If it hadn't been for his lanky arms folded under his head, blocking most of the papers, Jayde would have had the perfect opportunity to try and find out what his plans were but it seemed Joker had planned for this in particular and was guarding his notebook just under his slowly rising and falling chest. Next, options began to run through Jayde's mind. Either she could scream right next to his ear and startle him, or she could be somewhat nice and wake him up gently. She chose the latter of the two for fear of being strangled.

Her hand reached out, resting as gently as possible on Joker's shoulder so not to cause him to jump up and luckily, he did not and instead took a deep breath in to exhale slowly as he sat up, blinking dazedly. The first thing he noticed, and what he must have thought woke him up was the computer screen so he quickly reached out, turning it off to fold his arms again and move to put his head back down. Jayde laughed quietly, reaching out to touch him again and he jumped a tiny bit, turning his head to look up, scowling. Another sigh escaped him when he noticed her and he groaned, resting his elbows on the desk to rub his face, including all the makeup still on it from earlier. It smeared all over the place until his entire face looked gray but he obviously didn't care.

"Oh…it's you." He grunted, opening one eye to glance up at her as Jayde scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well, don't sound so disappointed." She answered, watching as Joker grunted a laugh, closing his eyes again.

"Oh, I'm not…I'm _not." _He defended. "But I _am_ really tired so I'm just gonna…" When he moved to lay his head back down on the desk, Jayde laughed, wrapping her hands around his upper arm.

"No, c'mon. Come get in your bed." she said, pulling on his arm until he finally stood up, groaning deeply as his arm wrapped around her shoulders. "You wont sleep well in here and then you'll be cranky all day tomorrow." She then explained, glancing up at Joker as she guided him across the dark room to the door, one arm behind his back, the other rested on his side to try and keep him standing in his half-conscious state. Above her, Joker grunted a laugh, closing his eyes as he tilted his head back.

"Good point, Jaybird." He groaned in that deep, sleepy voice and at first, Jayde wasn't sure if she had heard him correctly or not but was too busy not walking herself into the wall as she led Joker out into the hallway and over to his bedroom.

At his door, Jayde was hesitant to enter his room, thinking he might get the wrong idea, but the moment she let go of him, he swayed dangerously. She laughed, wrapping her arms around his middle again to keep him standing until she could get the door opened.

Once inside, Jayde was careful not to let herself get too close to his bed while she was still holding onto him, just in case he decided to take her with him when he fell, so she let go of him about a foot from the bed and took an immediate step backwards. A second later, Joker had fallen backwards onto his bed with a grunt and was now sighing contentedly as he lay there on his back. Jayde watched him for a moment or two, ashamed of herself for secretly wishing a very _tiny _ bit that she wasn't still mad at him and could climb over there and lay with him. But she had to remind herself of what he had done for nearly the one-hundredth time that week. Over at the bed, it seemed Joker was thinking something along the same lines as Jayde was as he reached out to pat his hand against the empty place next to him. He must have realized what he had done a moment later and brought his hand back to rest on his chest with a long, somewhat disappointed sigh.

"Goodnight, Jayde." He said, rolling onto his side with his back to her and with that, the low growling snore filled the room, so Jayde crept to the door, sparing one last glance over her shoulder at the sleeping monster on the bed.

A/N: Another long chapter, guys. = ] More to come in the near future. And let me give a big shout out to my best reviewers. You guys keep me going with this story! I appreciate it more than you know! LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! -QoM


	15. Road to Recovery

The next morning, even though Joker had plenty of other things to be doing, he could not have been found in his office or even downstairs but instead, standing at the foot of Jayde's bed with his arm raised, trembling with suppressed laughter. Above his head, in his hand, sat an air horn, primed and ready but he was hesitating, wondering fleetingly if now that Jayde had kicked his ass once in the past, she might be a little blood thirsty…She could very well jump up out of her bed and throttle him to death within moments, and he was imagining this but then shook his head, laughing silently at his stupidity. Please…Had he forgotten who he was?

A half-second later, Joker turned when he heard the door squeak lightly behind him and Tre's head appeared around the edge, frowning slightly. A huge, stupid grin spread slowly over Joker's face when Tre's eyes moved from his face up to his hand and the bright red air horn in it and he took a step inside, crossing his arms over his chest. After a nod from Tre, Joker cringed when his thumb pressed down hard on the button, releasing an incredibly loud burst of noise and several things happened at the same time.

In the bed in front of them, Jayde jumped up with a scream and moved to roll to the side, but must have forgotten how close she was sleeping to the edge. So the moment she fell off the bed with a thud onto the carpet on the far side, Joker and Tre burst into the loudest, most ridiculous laughter she had ever heard in her life. Tre had thrown his head back, clutching the dresser for support while Joker was practically bent double, holding the post of her bed to keep himself standing.

Across the room, Jayde sat up, blowing some of her frizzy hair away from her face as she stood up to quickly get back under the covers while they were distracted and had just scooted between the sheets to lay back down when they quieted. Tre was wiping the corners of his eyes on the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt while Joker held one hand to his still tender side, breathing hard and giggling slightly.

"I don't know why you insist on doing that, Joker." She groaned from against the pillows, closing her eyes as she tucked her hands under them. "It's really not that funny…" From the foot of the bed, Jayde could hear Joker laugh loudly as she finally got comfortable again then felt a bit of movement on her covers at the foot of the bed.

"Ya know? You're right. It's actually _hilarious._ Now get _up_," he started and before Jayde could even grab onto the blankets, his hands had whipped them right off and there she was, laying on the bare bed in nothing but a tank top and her black, lacey boy cut underwear. Joker and Tre both fell silent.

At first, she wanted to gasp and move to cover herself but a moment later, she decided that this could be Joker's punishment for waking her up; watching her roll over onto her stomach, arch her back and groan into her pillow. Jayde grinned widely when Joker failed to finish his sentence and instead tossed the comforter back over her to leave the room abruptly with Tre closely on his heels.

At the table downstairs, Joker stopped, pacing slightly as his hand ran through his messy hair, when Tre walked into the kitchen, laughing over his shoulder.

"I bet you didn't see _that _coming." He commented, returning to hand the Joker a short glass of orange juice that he drained in moments before setting it on the table behind him, crossing his arms to glare at the other side of the room.

"Did _you_?" he asked, glancing at Tre as he shook his head. "Awfully unfair of her though, don't you think?"

"Unfair, even though you just scared the life out of that poor girl?" Both Joker and Tre jumped slightly, startled out of their reminiscing when Dotcom spoke from above them, walking sleepily to the stairs. Obviously, the commotion had woken him and he was now placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose groggily. "What'd she do?" he then asked, passing them on his way to the kitchen. Tre laughed, while Joker rolled his eyes.

"Oh, ya know…I went to rip the covers off her bed and she's laying there wearing _nothing_…" He went on to explain rather bitterly but looked over when he heard Dotcom snort through his nose. When he turned from the fridge, his face bore a somewhat proud smirk and Joker could practically hear him thinking "_'Atta girl…"_

After Dotcom had stepped outside, Joker turned back to the table to lean over the notes that had taken up permanent residency there but practically cringed when he heard a door open upstairs…he had not yet forced his brain to stop showing him what her delicate little heart-shaped ass looked like in that underwear. She was now stepping off the stairs behind him…Joker could smell her. He took a quiet, deep breath in when the wind that trailed behind her wafted the scent of her coconut perfume in his direction. A second later, Joker cleared his throat, furrowing his eyebrows at the blueprints before him.

"So what was the main point behind you deciding to wake me up?" her voice called out from the kitchen as she poured herself some coffee and finally, Joker stood up, looking to Tre before over to her. He shrugged, tossing one of his hands.

"Well, you put me in _my _bed last night, so it's only fair that I get you out of _yours_ this morning." He answered, smirking when Jayde's face fell and several moments of silence went by while she tried to process his answer.

"…That makes no sense whatsoever." She finally said, rolling her eyes as she put a spoonful of sugar into her hot, steaming coffee. Joker laughed, turning back to the table again.

"It doesn't have to, Jayde."

Out on the porch, Jayde rolled her eyes at Dotcom when he laughed quietly at the look on her face. After offering her a cigarette, he lit his own, leaning back in the chair as she did the same, rocking her head to both sides to try and crack her neck. Once she had settled into the chair, Dotcom looked over.

"So you pulled the old 'in-the-underwear' trick on Joker…" he commented, laughing when Jayde shook her head, exhaling the smoke she had just inhaled.

"No, he pulled the old 'rude-awakening' trick on _me_ so I retaliated." She answered, rolling her eyes when he continued to laugh.

"You guys are _so _becoming friends again…" he somewhat mocked a moment later, grinning at her from across the table when she looked over to glare at him. She then looked down at the smoldering cigarette in her fingers.

"Not really." She said after a pause. "I just got tired of trying to avoid him and having all that hostility in the house."

Across the table, Dotcom was giving her a not-so-convinced look from behind his glasses. "Mmhmm…"

Nearly twenty minutes later, Jayde and Dotcom rose from the table once their cigarettes had been finished to step back inside, only to find that Joker had now disappeared, leaving only Tre munching his way through a bowl of cereal. He looked up from his magazine only to swallow first before nodding at Jayde.

"Says he wants you up in his office," he put simply then looked back down, just missing the huge eye roll Jayde gave at this information. Going up to Joker's office was about the last thing she wanted to do at this point since being so rudely awakened had ended up making her rather cranky. She had a feeling that Joker would not be so patient with her biting, sarcastic attitude that morning. But figuring that he would not wait very long for her to meet him upstairs before he came to find her, Jayde went over to the stairs with her fresh cup of coffee, yawning as she knocked on the door twice. From the other side, deep into the room, Jayde heard Joker's voice call out.

"Who is it?" he cried in a very high-pitched muffled voice and Jayde rolled her eyes yet again, taking a sip from her mug.

"Its me." she grumbled, jumping slightly when the door flew open, revealing the tall Joker, grinning from ear to ear down at her like he did when something had worked out to his advantage.

"Oh." He began, stepping aside to allow her space to walk through. "_Please_, come in."

Jayde obeyed, stepping through the door, only to follow him as he walked briskly across the room, to plop down into the tall computer chair to turn and continue grinning at her while she took a seat on the rolling stool. She looked up at him, but when he did not speak for several seconds, she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah?"

The grin on Joker's face disappeared with such haste that it was almost as if it had never been there in the first place. His scars drooped a bit when he rolled his eyes, turning back to the desk to grab a written-on piece of paper and begin folding it.

"Well, _Jayde, _I actually need you to make a call for me," he began to explain, and was about to go on when Jayde cut across him, her curiosity getting the better of her yet again.

"To who?" she immediately asked, smirking when Joker sighed, hanging his head slightly. She could practically hear him grinding his teeth.

"To our old friend Olivia Mitchell." He answered finally, but went on before she could interrupt again. "Now, _no questions_ until I'm done, yes?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he leaned forward slightly and Jayde instantly answered with an audible 'yes', knowing he would not go on until she had said this. Once she had agreed, he nodded, leaning back to cross one of his ankles over his other knee. "So, here's the deal. I need you to call her up and tell her that you've been having some uh…_problems_ and that you would like to meet for lunch or…coffee or whatever it is girls do to talk." At first, Jayde wanted to jump in and ask what 'problems' he was referring to but then remembered what she had just agreed not to do. Luckily, he went on.

"You need to tell her that the Joker has been bothering you again." He proceeded to explain, but at this, Jayde could not resist.

"And that's a lie…how?" she asked, but backed up a foot or so, grinning when Joker growled, glaring at her. Fortunately, he ignored her comment and continued, handing her the piece of paper.

"Just show this to her but _don't _ let her keep it. Just tell her to keep her eyes open for you and to keep her phone nearby so you can call if uh…the _scary _Joker comes to, ya know…harass you…"

After avoiding another few smart-ass remarks and listening intently to Joker's instructions, Jayde was finally leaving his office with him just behind her, following her out into the hallway. Once she had disappeared into her bedroom down the hall to call the detective, Joker meandered downstairs and out into the garage where he found Tre, smoking a cigarette as he sat on the tailgate of his enormous truck. When he spotted Joker, he offered him a smoke but put the pack back in his pocket when he shook his head, holding up a hand.

"You give her that letter?" he asked after a few moments, glancing up when Joker nodded slowly, gazing out at the driveway, smirking at his own cleverness. Tre rolled his eyes, taking a long drag from his cigarette while silence fell between them and Joker rocked back on his heels, sliding his hands into his pockets.

Writing that letter early that morning, Joker had nearly gagged several times at his ability to be _sickeningly _ romantic when he wanted to be. Even a few times, he had considered throwing away the damn thing and saying 'fuck it' but honestly, he was still working up to the day when Jayde would let him at least put his arms around her again so he had kept at it, knowing she would most certainly be reading it before showing it to the detective. He just hoped she would look past the weird parts to the 'secret' little message he had put in there. His ability to be mushy gushy definitely paid off sometimes and this was one of those instances. A wily, cunning grin spread across his face; He was just so _fucking smart._

Since Joker had given Jayde the instructions that she was to drive the Escalade to the city, park in her garage, then walk to the Starbucks a few blocks away, he pulled the keys to the Cadillac from his pocket when she emerged from the house twenty minutes later. Jayde was just approaching on his left side so he held them out with one finger, then looked over when she grabbed them. He was grinning and it took a lot of effort to force himself not to glance down to see what she was wearing now. However, Jayde was looking back up at him blankly, arching one eyebrow as she waited for his immanent, characteristic phrase. When he opened his mouth to speak, Jayde cut across him.

"Don't do anything stupid." They both said simultaneously, Jayde rolling her eyes while Joker squinted slightly in a glare. "Yeah, I got it." She went on to add, turning from the Joker and Tre to climb into the car. Joker watched her go without another word, wondering if and how much her attitude would change when she read that 'creepy' letter from her 'stalker'…But then again, what if she had already read it?

Fifteen minutes down the road, Jayde groaned, resting her head back against the seat, honestly a little surprised to find herself still in a mildly bad mood. The wheels of the Escalade had just touched Gotham asphalt when she imagined how much she would rather be back at the house in her bed, still asleep. Going to meet with the detective this early, when she was so moody, to go and lie about a bunch of stuff seemed exhausting and rather daunting. This would not be the first time she had lied her way through an entire conversation but for some reason or another, Jayde was just too tired for this.

The Cadillac slowed gradually until it stopped at a red light and Jayde sighed, tilting her head back and to the side to glance at the passenger seat to make sure she had brought her wallet and phone. Luckily, she had it but in her grumpy hurry to leave the house, she hadn't really noticed that letter Joker had given her to show Detective Mitchell. She was somewhat surprised she hadn't even thought of reading it just in case she needed to know what it said, so with her curiosity killing her, she reached over to unfold it.

Artfully, across the top of the page, Joker had seemingly stained a bit of red ink or…blood in small droplets and Jayde had to admire his tenacity…then again, it very well could have been actual blood; Jayde just hoped it was his. Her eyes continued scanning the page until she noticed her name, drawn in the same fashion as the tattoo on the small of her back. It read-

"_My dearest and most precious Jayde,_

_It's been a long time since we've seen each other, no? Well, wait…Let me rephrase- It's been a long time since __**you **__have seen __**me**_**. **_In fact, I've seen __**you **__quite often lately, but you tend to look straight through me. Funny how people don't see things until they're right in front of their face… _

_It really saddens me to think that we had to be pulled apart so abruptly like that, especially when I have never been more certain about whether a person belongs with me. And make no mistake, Jayde…You were made for me, and I, for you. _

_Your flawless beauty is only surpassed by your grace and intelligence and that is something truly hard to come by these days. I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no one on this earth quite like you…and that there is no one quite like me. This begs the principle, 'unstoppable force meets immovable object'. You and I, we can change things, forever._

_ I can't wait for __**you **__to see __**me**__…you beautiful girl._

_ Your most faithful and sincere, Joe Kerr"_

Suddenly, Jayde jumped, dropping the letter when a loud horn sounded from the car behind her and upon looking up, she found that the light had already been green and was now just turning yellow. Gritting her teeth, she glanced in the rearview mirror at the stupid asshole behind her before pulling through the yellow light, leaving him at the red. Her mind was spinning, practically reeling after reading Joker's…'love note' and despite the somewhat creeped out feeling she got from imagining if he had been serious, she noticed that her heart was beating incredibly fast and her stomach was alive with butterflies. How much of that had he meant? Was it all bullshit? Was it all true? Jayde could remember, a while ago, Joker telling her that he always knew exactly what to say because it was mostly bullshit, but something seemed different about this. With a determined nod of her head, Jayde made a mental note to ask him about it later and not be nervous about feeling awkward around him. She had _several _questions now…she just hoped he would be willing to answer them.

It was not long before Jayde had parked the Escalade and now found herself walking toward the Starbucks, barely noticing where she was going, almost bumping into people several times along her way. For the life of her, Jayde could not stop rerunning the words from Joker's letter in her mind and although the sweetness from it felt as though it _should_ make her happy, she could not believe that he had meant any of what he had said. There was just no way he could've truly felt that way, especially after…

"Jayde!"

She stopped in her tracks, followed shortly by her heart when she turned to recognize the tall, brown haired detective seated at an outside table with a large cup of coffee, smiling up at her. It was a good thing Jayde had been looking so distracted and not walking along grinning stupidly to herself as she had completely failed to even notice the woman. Forcing a grin onto her face, she pulled out the chair across from her to sit down.

"Do you want some coffee?" Olivia asked a moment later, motioning to her own cup before Jayde shook her head; she wanted this to be over as soon as possible.

"Uh…No, thanks." She answered, holding up a hand but then continued when Olivia gave off a confused frown, leaning back in her chair slightly. "I really just came to show you this. I got it yesterday and…" pulling the note from the inside of her jacket, she handed it over, her eyes scanning the detectives face as she began to reading. "I don't really think it means much but…" she went on to say, but of course, the policewoman looked up after mere moments of reading, frowning.

"Jayde, this is serious. This means he's targeting you again." She immediately said and it took a lot for Jayde not to roll her eyes. _Yeah, no shit._ Olivia went on, reading from the note. "'_I can't wait for you to see me soon, you beautiful girl.'? _Jayde, you've got to let me take this. Let me run it for prints and DNA from the blood!" Her voice raised momentarily and both of them glanced around before returning to the conversation with more quiet voices. Jayde shook her head.

"No. You can't take it." She said, but then hesitated, wondering fleetingly why Joker had told her not to let her have the note. She hastened to make something up. "Because…he'll know I've been talking to you. He has people everywhere…" she finally lied, watching the detectives face for clues as to what the woman was thinking. A second later, Olivia looked up, worry wrinkling the stress lines that she had developed in her young skin from her particular line of work.

"Then at least let me put a detail on you. They'll just follow you when you leave the house and protect you-" she went to suggest but Jayde shook her head again, this time more adamantly.

"No, seriously. He'll know. Your officers wont stand a chance. The Joker will have them killed almost the second they even get in their car, you _know _that, Detective Mitchell…"

"Olivia, Jayde, you don't have to call me-,"

"Ok, _Olivia,_ just promise me that you'll keep this quiet. I don't want anyone getting hurt because he found out I was talking to the police. Just…keep your phone close so I can call if something happens…" Jayde finally took a breath, raising her eyebrows. "Alright?" Far in the back of her mind, Jayde noticed that she was becoming quite the little actress…maybe she could do that if this whole 'Joker thing' didn't work out…

Across the table, Olivia was nodding gravely, handing the note back to Jayde who folded it promptly and stowed in her coat pocket. "Just promise me you'll call if anything else happens." She paused, leaning forward. "And if you get any other notes, Jayde, I have to take them from you. Not because I want to but because you would be obstructing justice and I would have to arrest you for that." She paused again, reaching out to rest her hand on the table. "And I hate arresting a victim, alright?"

After another ten minutes of pointless, wanna-be friendly conversation, Jayde and the detective parted ways, one agreeing to call, the other agreeing to answer. Finally, Jayde was on her way back to the Escalade, thinking to herself how glad she was that she had not been seriously scared for her life about the Joker coming after her. Fortunately, she lived in his house and was nothing short of one of his favorite people…according to his note…She still had yet to find out what he had meant by '_You were made for me, and I, for you.'_

Joker looked up from the table when the garage door flew open and in strode Jayde, her hair rippling in her wake as she let it slam behind her. He started to grin but then hesitated when he noticed the expression on her face; she looked _mad_. By the time he glanced at Tre across the room, Jayde had already reached the table and was now slamming his note down in front of him. One hand rested on her hip in that certain way she did when she was feeling particularly dangerous and Joker slowly looked up from the written-on piece of paper in front of him to her surprisingly angry eyes. This was definitely not the reaction he had been expecting.

"Just what the _fuck _is this?" she spat, not even bothering to wait until they were in private to ask this question. Past her, Joker noticed Dotcom and Tre glance at each other across the room before back to him where he waited to silently communicate that they were both to leave the room as quickly as possible. Both of his closest and brightest henchman stood up immediately, moving quietly to the garage door to step outside. Only once they had both gone did Joker finally look up at the fuming Jayde, calmly.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked rather politely, but apparently, Jayde was beyond his effort to remain friendly. She picked up the piece of paper to rattle it in his face, pulling a low growl from Joker…This was not something he took very kindly to. His forehead wrinkled in the new scowl he brought to his face.

"_This."_ She reiterated, slamming it back down on the table. "What is this?"

A second later, Jayde jumped when Joker suddenly kicked the chair next to her out from under the table and he stood up, towering over her. Instantaneously, her anger subsided a bit to allow just a twinge of foreboding to register across her expressions.

"Sit down…_now."_ He growled, glaring at her eyes until she had obeyed him and once she was seated, he copied her, occupying his previous seat. His fingers linked together in front of him on the table, and he leaned forward slightly. "_That_," he finally began, placing one finger in the middle of the paper to slide it toward her. "-is my fake threat that I asked you to show the detective…" he then explained but paused when Jayde shook her head, obviously not afraid to interrupt him a second time.

"No, its not. C'mon, Joker, I'm not stupid. You knew I would read it." She snapped, letting her eyes bounce between his as she searched his soul. "Tell me what it means." She then said, and for a second, Joker could've sworn she was about to add a strong 'now' to the end of her command just as he had previously done. He frowned. It was awfully ballsy of her to now be telling _him_ what to do…Fortunately, Joker had taken his 'patient pills' that morning and was now taking a deep breath to lean back in the chair, finally giving into the fact that if there was any time he needed to be truly honest with her, it was right then.

"It _means _that I care about you-…" he began but now let out another groan when Jayde interrupted him yet again.

"Bullshit!" she practically yelled, rising from the chair at the head of the table to step over to the other side of it, putting several feet of safety space between her and the Joker. "If you care about me then why did you fucking _rape _ me?" she asked loudly and Joker felt his stomach twist up uncomfortably. Within moments, he felt truly nauseas at hearing those words come out of her mouth but he took a deep breath, reaching up to rub his eyes with two of his fingers from each hand.

"Jayde," he began but once again, she felt the need to throw in her immediate thoughts.

"Because I'm pretty sure that-…"

"JAYDE!" he now shouted over her, rising from his chair to rest his hands on the table and lean on them. A second later, his voice fell again and he sighed, shaking his head; yelling at her was not going to help. "If you would like an explanation, then fucking _shut up._ Otherwise, _this," _he motioned from her to him and back a few times. "is going to get us nowhere."

Finally, after several seconds of glaring, Jayde seemed to understand what he was saying so she took a deep breath, nodding. Joker went on once she had subdued her anger momentarily and he had convinced himself that telling the truth would benefit him just this one time.

"You want the truth?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Jayde nodded as if to say 'yeah, duh' so he went on, straightening up to run a flustered, aggravated hand through his hair. "Jayde…I…_raped _you because," he paused to swallow hard when he felt like throwing up for a second; this was rather difficult to admit. "Because I was trying to convince myself that I didn't have feelings for you." He finally spat it out, turning from her almost completely to avoid seeing the look on her face; it was hard enough admitting such personal things to the one person he tried so hard to hide them from. "It…_obviously _didn't work."

Across the table, Jayde was silent, so he went on hastily to avoid an awkward moment. "I just figured if I could…get you out of here or…scare you away that everything would be fine and I could just…forget about you. But…fuck, Jayde. It backfired on me. If anything, I care about you _more_ now." At this, Joker paused, turning back to move slowly around the edge of the table toward her, hoping she would not punish him for coming within arms reach. Luckily, she stayed still so Joker took another step closer, shrugging as he looked down at her.

"It's not often I feel sorry for things." He began again, shaking his head. "Hell, I _never _feel sorry for the things I do. But…" he paused for the hundredth time to collect his thoughts before continuing and he brought his hand up to rest on his chest, indicating himself. "I felt like the biggest piece of shit _ever _ for doing what I did to you…and that's how I realized that I couldn't just…make you _go away._" Less than a foot from her now, Joker sighed when he noticed her blue eyes welling up with big fat tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. "You're too close to me now, Jayde."

Finally, _finally,_ Joker had run out of things to say and now shut his mouth, staring down at Jayde with slightly widened eyes while she sniffed, reaching up to quickly wipe away a tear that had escaped and traveled down her cheek as if hoping he had not seen. She cleared her throat, arranging her features into an expression that she hoped looked unconvinced.

"Are you lying?" she then asked in the most simple way possible and Joker laughed, shaking his head as he reached out to wrap his fingers around her wrist to pull her closer to him when he leaned against the table. Surprisingly, she did not pull her hand away.

"No," he answered, laughing again as he reached up to wipe another of her tears away with his thumb, his eyes watching the motion of his finger across her cheek. "Actually, I've never been so honest with someone in my entire life and _that _ is the truth." He admitted, grinning down at Jayde as she sniffed another few times, finally bringing her eyes up to meet his and Joker's eyebrows furrowed as his gaze bounced from one blue orb to the other and back again. "I'm _sorry, _Jayde."

Several long seconds passed where Jayde nodded, glancing down somewhat awkwardly, suddenly finding it hard to make eye contact with the Joker. Honestly, it was a bit weird to hear those words coming out of his mouth, even though she was immensely glad he had finally said it to her. She was just wondering what on earth she could say back to him when she noticed the bare belt loops on the jeans he was wearing. She frowned slightly, looking up at Joker in confusion.

"What happened to your-…" she went to ask but Joker cut across her, shaking his head.

"I threw it away."

A moment after his words, Jayde's face crumpled in tears and without warning, she stepped forward, closing the distance between them to wrap her arms around Joker's middle, burying her face against his warm shirt to sniffle quietly against his chest. Above her, Joker was smirking, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to rest his chin on the top of her head. _Finally, _they were on the road to recovery.

A/N: A rather short chapter here, but it really came out so fast that I felt the need to put it out now! I hope you guys enjoyed it and the next chapter is already in the works so hold on tight! LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! –QoM = ]


	16. Training Day

When Jayde stepped onto the porch several days later, staring out at the empty back yard, she turned back to look at Dotcom through the sliding glass door with a confused frown. He shrugged his answer, conveying to her without words that he really had no idea what was supposed to happen either. All either of them knew was that Joker had asked Dotcom earlier to wake Jayde up and tell her to come out to the back yard. So when he had relayed the message only ten minutes ago, Jayde had gone along with it and gotten dressed.

Now she found herself opening the screen door somewhat slowly, walking out into the yard hesitantly as a breeze blew by her, rustling the tall grass. Her eyes scanned the small field and distant trees, wondering wildly what she was supposed to be watching for. Normally, she had a few ideas about what Joker's current plan was but this time, she was utterly bewildered. However, the further she grew from the door and the safety of the screen, the slower she moved as that increasingly familiar sense of foreboding returned to creep up on her. She was getting the distinct feeling she was about to be ambushed.

No less than ten yards away, hidden, tucked away into the tall reeds of newly green grass, lay the Joker, on his stomach with one eye pressed to the scope on one of his favorite toys. His elbows were propping him up slightly as he held the end of the gun steady with one hand while the other gripped the column, one finger rested lightly on the trigger. Another breeze moved the grass around him but he stayed perfectly still, squinting slightly as he watched his prey. She was still glancing around, growing nearer with every step but Joker was not concerned about her spotting him; his hair acted like camouflage.

Jayde tossed her hands, turning around in a complete circle one last time before she sighed, rolling her eyes. Just another perfect example of how much Joker enjoyed getting people out of bed in the morning and making them cranky. She had just cursed his name and was about to turn to walk back inside only for two dull 'pop! pop!'s to break the silence. Suddenly something smacked into the side of her leg a split second before another shot of stinging pain hit her arm. A loud squeal left her as she clutched one hand to the fresh welt on her arm, ducking back around the edge of the screen. Looking down, she brought her hand up, groaning when she found it was covered in bright green paint.

"That really hurt!" she yelled, remaining firmly in place around the corner of the porch, glancing back through it to try and see the other side of the yard. It was still empty but Jayde knew the second she stepped back out, more paintballs would come flying at her from seemingly thin air and her leg and upper arm were still stinging angrily. Seconds later, Jayde screamed, making a dash for the screen door when three more paintballs were shot at her, seemingly from somewhere closer and somewhat in front of her now. The door shut behind her but she stayed just on the other side of it, staring out into the yard from the other side of the screen, squinting to try and spot him amongst the trees and tall grass. Vaguely, Jayde was reminded of some sort of hunter in the Serengeti plains, hiding completely unseen. Joker had apparently mastered the art of making himself invisible.

"I'm seriously gonna have bruises from that, you know!" she shouted, placing her hands on her hips irritably, now frowning at the back yard. She had just taken a half-step back in preparation to go inside when a paintball hit the screen right in front of her and exploded, sending a light mist of blue paint all over her face. And that's when Joker gave up his position.

Across the yard, near the garage, Joker stood from the grass, only to double over slightly as he laughed loudly, slapping his knee a few times. Jayde had seemingly frozen there with her eyes closed, fighting with herself on which urge to act on. One half of her wanted to laugh while the other wanted run out in the yard and strangle him. Both sounded tempting but instead of either of those, she simply sighed, standing there with her eyes closed, waiting, while the sound of Joker's laughter grew closer until the screen door opened just in front of her. He stepped inside, still giggling to himself as he set down his paintball gun. Jayde took a deep breath.

"I hate you so much right now." She exhaled, slowly opening her eyes to look up at Joker as he grinned down at her with that shitty, accomplished smirk. His hands reached up a second later, dragging his fingers down her face until the wet paint had formed blue streaks from her forehead down to her chin. He laughed again but let his hands come to rest on either side of her neck, tilting her head back slightly.

"If I had a nickel for every time…" he mumbled somewhat distractedly, currently too focused on taking in everything about her face at that moment. A second later, he shook his head, blinking twice before an excited grin stretched his scars. His hands shook her face a bit. "It's training day!" he exclaimed, proceeding with his original plan in an effort to force himself not to just stand there and stare at her electric blue eyes against the deep blue paint on her face. It was evidence of how somewhat comfortable she had gotten over the past few days since his apology when she let him stand this close and…touch her for more than a second or two. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Joker's grin widened.

"Training day?" she repeated him in question form. He nodded his reply then motioned to the sliding glass doors with his head.

"Go wash your face then come back out here." Joker then instructed, taking his hands back from either side of her neck. Of course, since he had not answered her question, Jayde stood there, holding the glare she had on him until Joker sighed, turning her away from him to push her a few paces toward the door. "_Go-uh…"_

When she returned ten minutes later, Jayde found Joker out in the tall grass again with his back to her, looking down at something in his hands. At first, she could not see what it was but a second later, he must have heard her approaching and turned, revealing that he had been busy loading a black handgun. Jayde was about to hesitate before coming any closer but she had a hard time believing Joker was about to shoot her. If anything, it appeared as though he were readying the thing for her to take it from him. One of her eyebrows cocked as she walked up, now watching him fit a thin, cylindrical device on the end of the gun.

"What's that for?" she asked, pointing at the attachment before looking up to his face as he scowled at the gun in his hands, concentrating on what he was doing.

"Silencer," he finally replied, then quickly pointed the gun into the trees nearby and pulled the trigger. Jayde had been prepared to jump and cover her ears but paused when she was about to bring her hands up; the silencer had eliminated nearly all of the sound of the shot being fired, leaving just a softer but still noticeable noise. A dull thud had sounded just after the gun when Joker's bullet made contact with a tree about forty yards away and he smirked, turning to look down at Jayde. When she looked back up at him, his eyes slowly slid down from her eyes to the gun he was now holding out to her and her gaze followed his until she shook her head.

"No, c'mon…" she started but Joker was already copying her by shaking his head fairly hard, letting his hair whip him in the face.

"Yes," he interrupted her. "You need to learn accuracy with one of these if you're going to be coming out on our little…_excursions._ So here's the deal," he took a breath, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders to turn her toward the far trees. "I want you to shoot at _that_ tree until you hit it _ten times_…_consecutively. _So if you hit it nine times in a row and miss the tenth?…"he asked, leaned down slightly with his ear cupped toward Jayde as he waited for her answer. She sighed, rolling her eyes heavily.

"-I'll have to start over at one…Right…" she grumbled, shaking his hand off of her shoulder and for a split second, Joker considered flicking her hard in the back of the head and telling her to knock it off with the attitude, that this was important, but he had a feeling that letting her be pissy and irritated while still participating would benefit him in the long run. He took a step back and over to the side so he could watch Jayde on one side and the tree, on the other.

A ways from him, Jayde was looking down at the gun, trying to mess with it so he sighed again, tossing one hand at the tree. "Just aim and shoot, Jayde. It's ready to go!" he called but then rolled his eyes when she just pointed hastily and fired, missing the tree by several feet. He shook his head when she shrugged. "Don't just…shoot." He then explained. "Take the time to actually aim and visualize." Across from him, Jayde huffed, tossing her hands and he grinned as she waved the gun.

"Why can't I just have a normal target? Like a board with a big circle on it?" she asked irritably and again Joker took a second to remain patient although he still growled, grabbing the front of his hair.

"Be-_cause_, anybody could hit a target like that. A tree is kinda…human-shaped. Now fire again!" he shouted, crossing his arms to watch when Jayde raised the gun again, this time squinting with one eye toward the tree and it seemed she was about to shoot when Joker cut in once more. "Open your eyes!" By now, Jayde was fully aggravated and was about to throw the gun but seemed to think better of it, and instead she squealed, bouncing a few times where she stood.

"Shut up!" she yelled, but then raised the gun and fired three shots consecutively, followed by three dull thuds from across the yard. A tiny smirk threatened to escape her when Joker laughed.

"Keep going!" he called, turning to begin circling behind her, watching closely as she fired another two shots. The first of the two hit its target, but her fifth attempt missed by just a hair. He groaned as though he were disappointed when Jayde huffed, shifting her weight back and forth a few times and he grinned as she looked over at him.

"So I have to-…"

"Yep!" he cried, grinning even wider when she groaned. "Start over at one! Aaaaand…fire!"

Finally, after nearly a half hour of inconsistent shots, of making it all the way to eight hits in a row then missing the ninth, a half an hour of Jayde stomping away angrily several times only for Joker to drag her back, she had _finally _gotten ten shots in a row and had just hit the tree an eleventh time when she threw her arms in the air, squealing.

"Yeah! In your face!" she shouted, turning to stick her tongue out at Joker as he walked over, grinning widely, holding out his hand for the gun.

"Yes, _finally_…" he groaned, rolling his eyes as he disarmed the gun and took out the silencer before stowing it in the back of his jeans. "…fuckin' Helen Keller…" he then added under his breath as he turned to open the screen door, laughing with a wheeze when Jayde smacked him hard on the back.

Inside the house, both of their roommates were downstairs, Tre over at the couch watching something on tv while Dotcom was in the kitchen, pulling something from the oven. Jayde trotted over to him when he straightened up and smiled at her as Joker followed suit, opening the fridge for a bottle of water. He was smirking to himself, admiring then just how fucking adorable she was when she was proud of herself.

"Guess what _I _ just did, Dotcom." She began, glancing over at Joker as she hopped up to sit on the counter next to the stove and the hot tray of toast he had just pulled out. Dotcom's eyes shifted from hers to Joker's at the fridge before he shrugged at Jayde.

"What did you do, Jayde?" he asked in an effort to entertain her excitement and he glanced back to Joker who smirked at him as if to say 'just humor her'. She straightened up, sticking her nose in the air slightly.

"I just hit the tree ten times in a row and a lot more times before that!" she exclaimed only for Joker to cough with a suppressed laugh and even from the living room, she heard Tre chuckle to himself. Her excited grin fell instantaneously. "What, is that not good?" she then asked, frowning from Dotcom to Joker and back again before both of them shrugged. A second later, Joker stepped over, grabbing her wrist to pull her down from the counter and force her to follow him.

"It means ya still got some work to do, kiddo." He answered over his shoulder, glancing at Tre as he passed the couch to the stairs and from the look his best friend gave him, Joker was positive he knew how much fun he was having, training Jayde in the ways of a true assassin…especially now that she wasn't spitting in his drinks anymore.

Luckily, it seemed Jayde was still too distracted by wondering if hitting the tree ten times in a row was good or not to notice where they were going but as usual, the moment he closed his office door behind them, she asked "What are we doing now?" Joker laughed to himself as he crossed the room to his desk.

"Well, _obviously_, I'm about to tell you, right?" he asked in return, glancing back at her on the other side of the room to watch the way her quizzical look faded to a frown. Both of her hands met her hips in that very 'Jayde' sort of way and Joker had to look away back to his desk to hide his grin and the fact that that small move she did was rapidly growing to be one of his favorite things about her. She usually cocked a hip to one side and her head, the other in a very characteristic sort of way that always made him smirk just a little.

He returned a few moments later with his hand held out, showing her the bundle of short thin knives and their silver, metal handles that he had pulled from his desk drawer. Jayde looked down, taking one from him immediately to run her fingers along it curiously. He watched her for a moment before he looked up. "These are throwing knives. Very handy for ya know…uh-…run-aways." He explained, trying not to start grinning again when Jayde's head quickly looked up at him, her gaze bouncing between his eyes as if trying to read if he was being serious or not. He continued a moment later, stepping away to walk over to the far side of the room, across from the back of his door. Jayde followed, honestly a little intrigued by this.

"What I want you to do is take the knife, _by the blade¸ _and throw it at the door." He said at first, miming what she was supposed to do but didn't actually throw the knife. Jayde frowned when he moved to hand it to her and instead held out the handful to him, taking a step back when he took them.

"You do it first." She requested, shrugging when he cocked an eyebrow at her. "I need to see how its done." She then added, which was completely true, but not the whole reason. Honestly, she just really wanted to see him do it…for her own reasons. It didn't take much persuading for Joker to comply and within moments he had stepped back over and was preparing to throw the first.

In one fluid motion, the threw the knife hard at the door, causing Jayde to jump from the surprising noise it made as it stuck into the wood. She was about to turn and look at him but jumped again when he threw another and then another and another until all six knives were stuck in the middle of the door on the other side of the room. Jayde exhaled slowly as she walked away to pretend to need a closer look at how far they were stuck in. In all honesty, she just needed to distract herself before she admitted openly to Joker how fucking sexy it was that he could do that. However, Joker was following her, grinning proudly as she tugged hard on one of the knives stuck nearly an inch and a half into the wood. When he reached her, she glanced up, rolling her eyes at him.

"Show off…" she muttered, grinning when Joker laughed, wrenching the knives from the door.

"No, no…If I wanted to show off, I would have you stand here and _then _let me do it." He replied, grinning down at her evilly as she shook her head, staring up at him sternly.

"No…Never." She stated, stepping away to the other side of the room again although she did honestly have half a mind to let him try it. However…she had a feeling if he succeeded in missing her with the knives, she might just drag him into his bedroom down the hall and that was not an option at this point.

As she arranged the knives in her hand across from the door, Joker disappeared onto the other side of the room only to return a moment later, sliding himself along backwards in his rolling computer chair. When he spun around a few feet from her, he was grinning widely, nodding his head.

"Ok, throw." He commanded, motioning toward the door with his head. So Jayde did what she was told but groaned when her knife simply hit the door lamely and fell to the floor with a clank. She turned immediately to Joker, half-expecting him to be sighing or rolling his eyes but he was not and instead simply shrugged. "Eh, I didn't expect you to get it on the first try." He said consolingly, but then held up his hand, showing her how to hold it right. "It's more of a fluid motion, not just moving your arm. You gotta put your shoulder and everything into it so you'll throw harder. Try again."

So again, Jayde obeyed him and threw it harder at the door, gasping when the tip of the knife stuck momentarily but then fell to the floor. She huffed irritably, tossing her hands while Joker laughed, shaking his head.

"You're not throwing it hard enough!" he explained, reaching out to take one of the knives from her as he stood up. "Ya gotta…" he began but then paused to throw the knife hard, leaning into it slightly before motioning at the door when the knife stuck with a dull thud. "See? You gotta really _throw _it. None of this wimpy-…" he paused again to mime Jayde throwing with a very sissy movement of his arm. When she glared at his poking fun of her, he laughed, sitting back down in his chair to watch. "Throw, _now." _

Finally, as was usually the case with Jayde, Joker was finding, it only took a few tries before she finally succeeded and was throwing the knives into the door fairly consistently. She was definitely better at this than at shooting but Joker was not necessarily surprised. Throwing knives was more intimate, more accurate once the person becomes accustomed to it. Besides, this was one of Joker's favorite methods of attack and it made him _truly_ proud that Jayde was somewhat good at it. After several minutes of her sinking the knives one after the other, she turned to him, somewhat breathless with enthusiasm.

"This is kinda fun!" she admitted, walking over to sit down on the rolling stool next to him, holding out the last knife she had failed to throw. Joker laughed, shaking his head.

"Well, you're a right sight better at this than at shooting so it's a good thing you think its fun." He answered mockingly, laughing again when she slapped his knee but he went on. "Since you're so _advanced _now, try throwing it from here." He challenged, pointing at the door from the somewhat deepened, angled distance. "_Sitting down." _ At first, Jayde wasn't sure if he was serious but after staring at him incredulously for a few moments, he nodded again, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

So with all the strength she could muster, Jayde wound up before throwing the knife as hard as she could at the door, only to squeal and jump up from the stool when it stuck in the wood fairly deeply. Joker laughed as she pointed at him.

"You're damn right I'm advanced at this!" she cried, trotting away across the room to pull the knives from the door as Joker stood up, cracking his back. "You didn't think I could do it, ha!" she added when he walked over, holding his hand out for the knives and he shrugged when she handed them to him.

"I never said that," he answered, winking at her as he turned to cross the room to put the knives back in his desk. "In _fact,_ I felt pretty confident you _could_ do it." He added as he returned, smirking. "I might even find you a uh…_moving_ target to practice on."

It seemed, at the moment, that Joker and Jayde were done in the office for the time being as he was now leading her out into the hall to go back downstairs. Tre was still on the couch as they approached but he glanced over and stood up when he noticed them and was tying his long brown dreadlocks back behind his head when they made it downstairs. Apparently, the look he gave Joker had been one of questioning what all the noise was from and Joker answered a second later, shrugging as he grinned. "Throwing knives."

"Ah…" Tre answered, following them out onto the back porch where Dotcom was seated, smoking a cigarette while he read an instruction manual to some new gadget. He looked up at the sound of the door and grinned at Jayde as he set down the manual, sliding his pack of cigarettes toward her. However, Joker reached out a second before she did, grabbing the cigarettes before she could take one.

"Ah, ah…" he started, sliding them back to Dotcom. "We still have one area of training left and you'll be needing your lungs nice n' pink for it." He told Jayde, grinning widely when she groaned, leaning her head back against the chair.

"Ugh," she whined. "Seriously? What is it? _Screaming_?" she then asked, rolling her eyes as Dotcom and Tre laughed and Joker leaned forward on the table, linking his fingers together.

"_Noooo…_" he answered. "Running." All laughing ceased at the table and Jayde's head turned quickly toward him as if she hadn't heard him correctly. Joker could tell she was about to ask '_running?' _so he went on, cutting over her voice. "Yes, _running._ Now let's go."

After shooting Dotcom an irritated roll of her eyes, Jayde left them at the table to follow Joker out into the back yard again, sighing with her hands on her hips as he walked all the way out to where the grass was shorter and the field extended out into the back yard of the empty, model-home mansion next to them. Once at a spot where he felt it was safe for running, he turned, motioning with one hand for Jayde to come join him and after a few moments, she walked up looking thoroughly disinterested. He grinned widely at her, placing his own hands on his hips.

"Alright so…In our…'line of work'…" he began, holding up quotation signs with his fingers. "-It may become necessary to run, either _from _something or _after_ something." He was explaining, watching Jayde's eyes as she did the same to him, listening to his words but he was positive they were probably going in one ear and out the other. He was about to go on when Jayde cut in, staring out across the field now.

"So what do I have to do?" she asked, turning to look back up at him when she felt his expression change and she found he was grinning again. His shoulders shrugged a second later.

"All you have to do is outrun me." he answered simply, his grin expanding when Jayde huffed, rolling her eyes as she turned to face the wide strip of land, bordered by lanes of tall grass on either side. The wind blew gently, rustling the distant trees and grass all around them. "I'm going to give you a head start then I'm gonna chase ya. If I catch you, we do it again until you can outrun me. Capiche?" he asked, leaning down slightly with his eyebrows raised only to find that Jayde was looking back up at him, her eyes somewhat half-lidded and…unless lack of…'intimacy' was making him delirious, it almost appeared as though Jayde were giving him the eyes…_those_ eyes… He could swear her lips were puckered just a bit more than usual, parted that oh, so sexy way that showed off her…

Joker jumped slightly when Jayde suddenly took off, sprinting away from him, laughing as he called out after her. "Oh, I see!" he yelled, kicking out one of his legs to try and stretch any kinks out. "Diversionary tactics, hm?" He watched her for a few moments, counting slowly backwards from five. She was honestly running pretty fast and had already gained a good amount of ground, but the moment he mentally reached the number one, he took off, sprinting after her, quickly gaining speed as his pace evened out.

Jayde was still laughing and had just glanced over her shoulder when she must have heard him approaching and her laughter quickly evolved to a scream when she realized how close he had gotten behind her. Joker was now the one laughing, cackling as she squealed, trying to zig zag slightly although this only slowed her down, bringing Joker another foot closer to her. His arm had just reached out to wrap around her waist when she suddenly changed directions completely, sprinting into the expanse of tall grass. Joker went sliding past her and she went to laugh breathlessly but screamed again, squealing with laughter as he quickly doubled back and gained the ground behind her again.

A second later, when Jayde moved to change directions again and run past him, Joker reached out, wrapping one arm around her waist, to tug her back and down into the tall reeds of grass, just next to him. She was fairly winded, giggling breathlessly as Joker did the same, rising onto his elbow at her side to move his hair away from his face, squinting at the sunlight beaming down on them. Jayde's heart was hammering at the inside of her ribcage as she caught her breath but this was nothing compared to what it was doing when she opened her eyes to find him looking down at her, smirking. Somehow his forearm had ended up underneath the back of her head as he stayed propped up on his elbow and now Jayde could feel butterflies zooming around inside of her stomach. As she watched his gaze flicker up and down between her eyes and lips a few times, she tried desperately hard not to wish he would lean down and just do it. Yes, he had apologized and things had been leagues better over the past few days, but it did not erase what he had done…And yet…it had been _so _long since she had felt the scar on his bottom lip against her smooth one.

It seemed Joker was thinking something along the same lines and in an effort to control the situation, he raised his eyebrows, nodding once. "Think its safe to say I caught you." He stated. "Even though you did try to distract me _and _you changed directions a few times…" Jayde shrugged, trying to keep her left hand where it was at her side so she wouldn't reach up and run it along his broad shoulder and upper arm.

"Well, you can't blame me for trying!" she said, tossing her hand.

"Since you just…ran away, I didn't get to finish what I was saying," he went on once Jayde had looked back up at him, only to find that his expression had grown somewhat serious. Her eyebrows furrowed. "If you're out with me and I tell you to…run or duck or…shoot," he started, pausing to nod his head. "You have to do it, _without_ question." His eyebrows raised as if looking for her to indicate that she understood what he was saying. "If you hesitate and something happens…" Again, he paused as his voice trailed off, looking up through the grass toward the house with a sigh before his eyes came back down to meet hers. There was every chance that what he was about to say would launch them into an awkward situation but it needed to be said, she had to understand. "You have to trust me, Jayde."

As he expected, her eyes flashed slightly at his words and at first, it appeared as though she was going to say something but seemed to think better of it. She shut her mouth again and resorted to a simple nod. Perhaps she didn't want their current situation to end either? Joker sighed again, reaching up to move some of her hair from her face when a breeze blew it there, rustling the tall swaying grass around them. He had been trying not to let himself do that but it didn't seem like she was going to stop him and he really couldn't help it anymore.

He knew Jayde was watching him fight himself and normally that would have irritated him but this was the closest he had been to her, the most comfortable he had felt around her in over a month. If there was only some way he could have read her mind to know what she wanted. The moment was going on far longer than it needed to and just when he was about to give up and lean down further, he jumped, looking up when the sound of rustling footsteps approached them. A second later, Tre appeared, standing in the stretch of short grass, smirking but immediately looking away as though he had walked up on something awkward. Luckily, Joker was already standing up, pulling Jayde along with him and Tre laughed somewhat nervously, glancing from Joker to Jayde.

"We heard you screaming all the way back at the house. I take it he caught you." He said to Jayde, turning to walk back toward the mansion as she laughed, her eyes quickly glancing up at Joker. He didn't seem to be paying much attention and was now walking along with his hands in his pockets, biting on his bottom lip as he stared ahead pensively.

"Yeah, he did." She answered, wishing there was some way to even out what had just happened so they could go back to being friendly and not all awkward around each other. A grin met her lips as she continued to look up at him and a second later, she reached out, sliding her finger into the bare belt loop at the side of his jeans, holding on as they stepped over a bit of uneven ground. Beside her, she noticed Joker's formerly somewhat confused frown fade slowly into a smirk.

Tre didn't seem to notice what she was doing until they had reached the screen door and she let go when Joker moved to hold it open for them to go through. At the table, Dotcom was still sitting reading that instruction manual although he looked up with a grin when they approached.

"So you lost?" he asked, sliding his pack of cigarettes toward her once she had sat down and she glanced at Joker as he leaned against the post of the patio with his arms folded, grinning. She shrugged a second later, taking one of the cigarettes to light it and inhale deeply.

"No, I didn't lose." She answered, frowning at him. "He just has longer legs than me…unfair advantage." When Dotcom, Tre and Joker all three laughed, she smirked down at the cigarette in her fingers, suddenly completely in love with her 'family' for some reason or another.

A few minutes later, after Joker had gone inside saying something about a shower and Dotcom had gone in saying something about dinner, only Jayde and Tre remained, smoking in silence as they both looked out to the back yard. This sort of quiet contemplating was not awkward to Jayde but before she could revel in the fact that they were finally familiar enough to have a comfortable silence, Tre's deep voice broke it.

"So…I didn't mean to interrupt anything just now…" he said somewhat slowly in reference to the moment between she and Joker he had just broken up. Jayde was about to tell him that he hadn't really interrupted anything when he went on. "But if you don't mind me asking, what were you guys talking about when I walked up?" Jayde rolled her eyes a bit, exhaling a thin stream of smoke when she looked over at him across the table.

"He was just telling me that I have to listen to what he says when we're out and to trust him…" she answered. Tre's eye brows raised.

"And?…" he encouraged her to go on. She took a deep breath, folding her hands over her stomach once she had put her cigarette out.

"Well, I understand what he's saying. But…I don't know how I feel about trusting him completely. I mean after what he did-…" her voice trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence but luckily Tre cut in.

"There is no one on this earth that understands Kieron like I do. And just the fact that he actually verbally _apologized _ to you is something huge in and of itself, I don't think you understand that." He explained, pausing to take a drag from his cigarette and Jayde was positive he was about to go on so she stayed quiet. "That dude has never felt remorse for _anything_, period…" At this, she cut in.

"Yes, but just acting like mister perfect isn't going to just gain my trust back. I mean it's helping, don't get me wrong but…" It was now Tre's turn to interrupt.

"Jayde," he began and she blinked. That was the first time she had ever heard him say her name. "If I can be perfectly honest with you, I have never seen him act the way he has lately. He's been so…_happy_, even when you're not around that is really _weird _for him." He said and Jayde cursed inwardly when she had to try hard not to grin. "He is absolutely crazy about you and I think he's been realizing it lately," Again, he paused and Jayde was starting to feel antsy from the new butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. Why did hearing this from his best friend make her feel so…elated? Tre was continuing. "So, if you don't ever plan on letting him win your trust back, then you need to let him know, soon."

Silence descended again while Jayde thought, biting down on her bottom lip before she looked over, tossing her hands. "I want to trust him, Tre. I honestly do, but how am I supposed to…do that? I don't want to just…run up and be like 'oh, yes, I trust you, I know you wont ever ever hurt me again' because then he'll just do it again-…" Tre shook his head, holding up a finger.

"Jayde, you can rest assured that he will _never _do what he did to you again." He stated first but then went on. "Just take things slow, girl. Believe me, he understands that it will take time for you to trust him again. But you can't blame him for trying harder to make you happy in the mean time." Finally, he looked back over, smirking at her when she sighed, shaking her head.

"Ya know, Tre? Joker is so lucky to have a best friend like you." She said, smiling at him. "You're so calm and…collected and patient with him and it seems like that is what makes you two such great friends. You even each other out." Across the table, Tre was nodding slowly.

"Exactly, Jayde. That's the same sort of thing you two have." He replied, grinning when realization dawned on her face. "You are calm and collected too. You're patient with him because you care about him and know what it takes. That's why _you_ two make a good match. You're polar opposites but you're both completely crazy about each other, whether you want to admit it or not." It seemed Tre was having one epiphany after the other and he went on again after another pause. "That's why it's been so frustrating for Dotcom n' me lately. It's like you and Ki are just trying to ignore the fact that you both have feelings for each other. It's the whole 'elephant in the room' thing. If you both just admit it, things would be so much easier…for everyone."

Jayde was about to laugh and reply when the sliding glass door opened behind her and a wave of excellent-smelling cologne met her senses just before Joker stepped out, apparently sensing that they had just been talking about him. He glanced from Tre to Jayde and back again somewhat suspiciously before he sat down, placing the white towel he had brought with him on his head to rub it over his dripping green messy hair. At first, Jayde wasn't really sure what to say so she stayed silent and instead looked up at Tre when he stood, sliding his pack of cigarettes into his pocket. Apparently, he didn't find it necessary to explain why he was leaving but Jayde was positive that he wanted to give them time alone to possibly talk about what had transpired in the grass…She was also positive that Joker did _not _ want to talk about it.

Once Tre had left them, Joker looked over, exhaling heavily. "So you _kinda _passed your training." He stated, cocking one eyebrow at her as she frowned. "You still need some work though." He then added, grinning when she rolled her eyes.

"So do I get a prize for _kinda _passing my training?" she asked somewhat sarcastically although her eyes widened when Joker nodded.

"Actually, you _do_, miss smarty-pants." He answered, leaning forward on the table toward her. A second later, she copied him, staring at him expectantly until he went on. "If you _want_, I'll tell you what my 'big plans' are…but you probably want something else-…" Jayde gasped, bouncing a few times in her chair.

"No! Tell me! That's the prize I want!" she squealed, grinning when Joker laughed, rising from the chair as he glanced inside at the kitchen.

"Alright, fine. After dinner, meet me in my office and we'll…chit chat…"

Dinner, as usual, was beyond delicious and perfectly filling although Jayde did honestly eat a little faster than she normally would have. She could hardly believe Joker was finally going to tell her what he had been planning although she did feel a bit skeptical about whether he would really let her in on everything. She had been the first one to finish eating, had already taken her plate into the kitchen and was now sitting on the couch, pretending to watch tv when she heard Joker rise from the table on the other side of the room behind her.

A second later, he appeared out of nowhere and Jayde was just about to look up when he suddenly plopped down on her lap heavily, sliding one of his arms around her shoulders to link his hands together at her arm. Jayde groaned, bringing up her hand to rest it on his back and he grinned when she glared up at him.

"Are you _sure _you wanna know the plans?" he asked, squinting down at her. "Ya know, there are other prize options…" Jayde was shaking her head indignantly.

"Nope! I wanna know the plans." She answered immediately, although she was somewhat curious as to what other 'prizes' he had. Her curiosity for his plans far outweighed her interest in other 'options' so when Joker stood up, holding out his hands, she did not hesitate to place both of hers within his larger ones and he pulled her up before heading to the stairs.

Upstairs, with the office door closed behind him, Joker followed Jayde over to his desk where she helped herself to the more comfortable of the two chairs before swiveling to face him as he sat down on the rolling stool across from her. She was already leaned forward expectantly, staring at him with a poorly hidden, excited grin on her face. He glanced at her before smirking to himself as he pulled a small book from his desk drawer before flipping it open to his bookmark and clearing his throat. He knew Jayde was staring at the open Bible in his hands, probably wondering what the _fuck _he was doing reading from it but instead of stopping to explain himself now, he proceeded to read, knowing there would be plenty of questions for her to add to her list once he was done reading.

"Then the Lord said to Moses: "Tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt—all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.'" He read, pausing momentarily although Jayde stayed silent so he continued reading and reading and reading from the book of Exodus until he had finished the book and set it back down on the desk with a satisfied sigh.

Across from him, Jayde was staring blankly, dumbfounded that he had gone so far as to read to her for nearly fifteen minutes and he laughed, shrugging his shoulders when she blinked a few times, sitting up. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she tried to think through the enormity of what he was trying to tell her.

"So…you're going to…do the 'Ten plagues of Egypt'?" she asked finally, frowning fully when Joker nodded enthusiastically, his grin wide with excitement and pride at his idea. "That's what you were talking about when you said you were going to turn water to blood?" she asked again, her frown deepening when he nodded again, harder. "Um…why?" At this, Joker sighed, deflating slightly as he slouched on the stool.

"Why _not?_" he answered with a question, apparently convinced that his logic was completely air-tight. Jayde tossed her hands, rolling her eyes.

"Honestly, I'm a little surprised that you've actually read that thing," she commented, motioning toward the closed Bible with one finger. "You don't really strike me as the religious type, to be honest, Joker." He shrugged.

"I'm _not_ the religious type." He replied. "I just got curious about what all the…_fuss _was over this one book so I sat down and read it. Then I read the Koran too, just out of curiosity. _Very _inspiring, the wrath of this…_'God' _person." He went on to explain, turning slightly to lean his back against the desk, looking over sideways at Jayde. "He's the ultimate agent of chaos, see? _Very _inspiring to someone like me…"

Through his explanation, she had slowly started shaking her head until she finally laughed, leaning back in his chair, honestly a little blown away by how smart and creative he was when he wanted to be. She would never have _ever _thought of using an idea like the ten plagues of Egypt on a corrupt and bustling city like Gotham but now that she thought of it, it _did _seem like somewhat of a cool idea. The water into blood thing, she could understand; that's why he had been meeting with the owner of a huge chain of slaughterhouses about purchasing around seven or eight tons of blood. _That's _why they had been down at the docks near the water processing plant for the entire city of Gotham. But the book of Exodus spoke about masses of frogs and locusts that infested Egypt, about lice and boils and blisters that afflicted nearly all of the Egyptians of the time. Joker's plan was starting to seem a bit monumental but also incredibly overwhelming.

"So that's the plan," he was saying, holding out one hand, only to grin when Jayde gasped, leaning forward towards him.

"No! You said you would tell me everything!" she cried, reaching out to slap him on the knee while he laughed, holding out a hand to deflect her smacking.

"I just did!" he answered, rolling away from her slightly. "I never said how specific I was going to be…" Across from him, Jayde huffed, leaning back to cross her arms over her stomach like a disappointed little girl and Joker grinned when he even noticed her bottom lip poked out a bit further than usual.

"That's unfair," she murmured, glancing down before smirking back up at him when she found herself unable to frown for too long. Joker looked away a second later, moving to put his Bible away, thinking wildly about telling her how it was awfully rich of her to call anything unfair when all he could do was sit there and think about kissing her right on that pretty mouth of hers…and about how she would probably punch him if he were to attempt it. He cleared his throat a second later to try and distract himself from the thought.

"Well, at least now you can't say I never tell ya anything, kiddo." He said rather off-handedly, completely unaware that Jayde was now staring at him, wondering how wrong it would feel if she were to just stand up and sit down in his lap. But then again…Tre had said it would be smart to just take it slow with Joker now. So in an effort to put a little distance between them, Jayde stood up, stretching her arms out as a yawn took over and she shivered when Joker stood as well.

"I really think I need a shower and maybe early bed." she said in something of a mumble, hoping to diffuse this random, somewhat awkward moment. It was obvious neither she nor Joker really knew how they got there but both were itching to make it stop. "…Seeing as to how I got something of a work out today…" She continued with a slight laugh as she rolled her eyes, hoping Joker would catch on. Luckily, it seemed as though he did and was now walking over to the office door to open it for her. Jayde followed but just when she thought he was going to leave it there and say goodnight, he stepped out after her, closing the door behind him.

Without missing a beat, Jayde began walking down toward her bedroom door, mildly surprised that he was going with her although she had half-expected something like this to happen…he had to get her alone at some point to talk about things and get something of an update on how she was feeling toward him. She was positive beyond all doubt that he was going to mention it the moment they reached her door whether he wanted to or not so in an effort to control the situation, she trotted forward a step or two to turn and face him, arching an eyebrow.

"You know…Just because you've been so nice to me lately doesn't mean I don't hate you still." She said with a grin and a joking tone to her voice. Fortunately, Joker was smart and she was grateful he could see through her 'joke' to the underlying message she was trying to get across. Having serious conversations with him was fairly hard to do so if she could keep her tone light and somewhat playful, he would be much easier to reason with. As she reached her door, he stopped and turned to lean against the railing of the landing, folding his arms. He was smirking somewhat smugly…a good sign.

"But I bet it's helping, _hm? _Am I right?" he asked, leaning forward slightly to grin at her. Jayde shrugged, fully disappointed in herself when she felt her legs force her a step closer to him. After a pause, her eyes slid up and away from his as she looked quizzically at the wall.

"_Maaaybe…"_ she answered in a questioning tone but looked back to the Joker when she heard take a deep breath and exhale. At the moment, it seemed as though the Joker was growing frustrated and wasn't really sure how to handle it…Jayde hated herself for understanding him so well… He tossed his hands with a shrug, squinting at her with one eye as he hung his head slightly.

"I've never had to…make up for something before, Jayde," he stated a moment later, his voice somewhat low and flat, all clowniness temporarily missing. "So you gotta help me a little here."

"Well, maybe if you-…" her answer had been so immediate, Jayde caught herself off guard but instantly stopped there, wondering how on earth she had convinced herself so quickly that it would have been a good idea to tell him to kiss her. Shaking her head, she looked down momentarily, completely sure that Joker knew what she had been about to say, and she was just looking back up to say something else, completely unrelated, when Joker's scarred lips caught hers half-way through the motion. She gasped lightly against him, her hands instinctively raising to rest on his chest gently but a second later, her brain had kicked in and she pushed him instead, taking a step back. As hard as she was trying to be mad, her efforts were staunched by the surprised grin on her face.

"Hey, you can't just-" she had started to say but in one movement, Joker had stood from leaned against the railing to bring his hands up to either side of her neck, pulling her only an inch closer to him to connect their lips again. Finally, Jayde's defenses broke like a weak dam and she found herself moving so close to him, she had her head tilted all the way back as he stood straight up. She sighed in content as a warm, tingly feeling passed through her from the two places where his hands were at her neck and chin and suddenly her body was seemingly vibrating. Against her, she could feel that wonderful, perfect scar on his bottom lip as she caught it between hers and she wondered fleetingly how she had never appreciated it before.

Joker was grinning as he pulled away, only for a half-second to laugh quietly to himself, before pressing his lips to hers again, bringing one of his hands to the back of her neck, underneath her hair. Jayde felt herself melt right into the carpet but just as she was about to place her arms around his shoulders, he pulled away abruptly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as he grinned. A second later, he was walking away, leaving Jayde to blink several times as though she had just woken from a nap. She looked over quickly at the back of his lanky, retreating figure, wondering wildly what she could say to get him to turn around again.

"Hey, you never told me what the other prize was!" she called, knowing full-well that she was blushing deeply, but she was beyond caring if he saw her bright pink cheeks. Halfway down the hall, Joker paused and turned partially with his hands in his pockets, grinning at her over his shoulder.

"You just _got _the other prize." He answered, arching an eyebrow with that characteristic smirk before continuing on his way down the hall, leaving Jayde to float into her room once he had disappeared into his.

A/N: Alright, so you kiddies have a little homework to do if you want to understand the Plagues of Egypt. I realize some of you may not agree with the Bible and I understand, as I am with most of you on that. However, I have been intrigued by the plagues for some time and think it will make for an excellent satirical aspect to this story. So I have a link for those of you who would like to actually read the inspiration from the scriptures themselves. The book is Exodus, the translation is called "New Living Translation". So for those of you who don't wish to read, that's fine. For those of you who would like to, private message me and I will send you a link to the text. I didn't go into detail with the plagues in this chapter for a reason. You can find the New Living Translation on a website called… NLT dot scripturetext dot com /slash/ Exodus /slash/ 7 dot htm But again, if you just want the link to the site, private message me or leave it in a review. LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! = ] -QoM


	17. Example Kill pt1

The Joker rolled over in his bed the next morning, completely unsurprised to find himself wide awake and without even thinking of wasting more time laying there, grinning stupidly to himself over the surprised look on Jayde's face when he kissed her, he stood right up to start the day. It was still pitch black in his room, which was normally how he liked it, but as usual, the moment he opened his bedroom door, the bright sunlight that met his eyes forced him to squeeze them shut, stepping blindly out into the hallway.

He took a few steps out, reaching out for the railing as one of his hands came up to rub his now pounding eyes but the longer he stood there, the more it began to dawn on him that he was being watched. Turning his head, he opened one eye ever so slightly to look down at the bottom floor and notice that both Tre and Dotcom were downstairs, had currently stopped what they were doing and were now staring at him. A short bark of a laugh escaped him before he turned, leaning over the railing slightly.

"What are you _faggots _staring at?" he snapped, looking from Tre to Dotcom and back again as they both glanced at each other before Dotcom's eyebrows raised when he turned to put a few more dishes away and Tre rested his elbows on the dining room table, watching as Joker now walked down toward them groggily. At first, he hesitated in going to the table and veered off to the right as if going to the living room, glancing at Tre rebelliously almost as though a little kid would to their parent when told to come back. However, a second later, from the look on Tre's face, he changed directions again, trudging over to the table to slide into the chair across from his best friend. His hands immediately met his eyes and leaned on them with his elbows on the table, partly because it still hurt, but also because he could tell Tre was doing that best-friend eye-contact conversation thing again.

"So I guess you and little miss thing are on good terms again." When Joker refused to look up, Tre took it upon himself to verbally ask about it, smirking when he looked up quickly, blinking. He immediately glanced over at Dotcom in the kitchen, listening, before raising his eyebrows back at Tre, holding out a hand. His messy morning hair bounced a bit when he shook his head, frowning as he shut his eyes against the bright spring sunshine poisoning the room.

"What are you talking-…" he started but Dotcom cut in now, leaning on the counter toward them.

"Yeah…Tre n' I were both downstairs when you…said 'goodnight' to Jayde last night." he explained, the effort not to grin now wrinkling the smile lines next to his eyes as Joker sighed with a slight growl, fisting his hands into the front of his hair and his elbows came back to rest on the table. "No, don't be embarrassed." He then added, glancing at Tre. "We're just glad you guys aren't trying to kill each other anymore."

Joker looked up as Dotcom turned his back to put a few glasses away and his eyes shifted to Tre before he looked away again, doing a thoroughly horrible job of hiding the stupid, boyish grin on his face. Of course, his best friend knew exactly how he was feeling and Joker felt like an idiot for even trying to hide his happiness from the one person who understood him. Tre smirked at Kieron's inability to process this new emotion before he looked back down at his magazine.

As highly embarrassing as Joker found it, being seen acting all mushy-gushy by his team, the emotion was just not strong enough at the time to really bother him. However, as he sat there, staring at the upside down magazine in front of Tre, he found himself a little surprised to be feeling this anxious about seeing her. There was a good chance that she might wake up regretting what had happened last night and in that case, they would probably have to take a few steps back and retreat to being awkward around each other. Joker _hated_ that…He had grown attached to the sound of her voice again and didn't think he could handle another dose of the silent treatment.

Any second, he expected the sound of that door opening on the second floor and just as his knee started to bounce anxiously, Dotcom finished unloading the dishwasher and was now walking over toward the sliding glass door for a smoke. Tre jumped slightly as Joker stood up abruptly, causing his chair to skid across the marble floor with a loud scrape.

"I'm coming with you." He stated to Dotcom, following him out onto the porch only to plop down into the chair across the table. His hand reached out a second later, wiggling his fingers until Dotcom had slid his pack of cigarettes across the table. It seemed, from the way Joker could feel him staring, that Dotcom was apparently waiting for something before speaking so Joker took control of the impending conversation once he had lit his cigarette and inhaled.

"So I need to set up a…'command central' of sorts." He stated, turning his head to look at Dotcom when he could practically hear his eyes lighting up. He shrugged, taking another drag of smoke. "You need a set-up where you can have your eye on everything…all the teams…be in contact with everybody." Joker went on to explain, again glancing at Dotcom to make sure he was following. "So today you need to write a list of the equipment you would need for such a thing and have it to me tonight when Jayde and I get back from Gotham with our…subject." From the corner of his eye, Joker could see that Dotcom had nodded so they resumed their silence, both staring off in opposite directions, smoking quietly until the sound of a door opening from inside caught their attentions. Joker immediately looked to Dotcom who had done the same at him and now both were having a quick silent conversation. From the look in his eyes, it almost appeared as though Joker were asking for some sort of hurried advice so Dotcom obliged, nodding once with a smirk.

"Just be nice," he offered, watching Joker's face as he stood up, putting his half-smoked cigarette out in the ashtray. He turned from the table, to open the sliding glass door.

"Shut up…" he snapped and Dotcom rolled his eyes behind his back as he stepped inside.

The moment Joker closed the glass door, dread immediately filled him like the feeling of being sick and for a half-second, he considered going back outside when he noticed Jayde coming down the stairs in her pajamas. Surprisingly, she looked over, with her eyebrows raised in preparation to speak to him so he crossed his arms, smirking at her.

"You see this?" she asked, her voice somewhat raspy with sleep, and she turned to show him her left arm and the bright purple and yellow bruise around the welt he had put there yesterday. Tre had looked over and was now chuckling quietly to himself as Joker let out a laugh.

"Yeah, I see it." Joker answered, taking a few steps into the room as she stopped, glaring at him. "So?"

It was obvious she was trying really hard to have a reason to be mad at him, but she could not fight the joking grin that attempted to sabotage her plan. Joker laughed again when she huffed irritably, turning her back to him to go and sit on the couch. Her arms folded over her stomach a second later as she tried to act annoyed but now that Joker was positive she was anything but angry with him, he felt emboldened and little more like himself when that nervous anxiety drained from his body.

From her peripheral vision, she noticed Joker rounding the edge of the couch so she looked up and away quickly, only to groan loudly when he took a heavy seat on her lap. After getting comfortable, Joker grinned down at her, giggling through his nose as she attempted to avoid eye contact with him, playing up her act of being mad but to little avail. His arm reached out, wrapping around her shoulders as he leaned against the end of the couch.

"Jayde…" he started, his voice clowny and raspy as he cooed to her. Quiet snickers escaped him again when she turned her head all the way to the side, completely avoiding him.

"Stop," she warned, smacking away one of his hands when he attempted to bring it up to turn her face. "I'm mad at you." At this, Joker made a small noise of disappointment although the grin on his face plainly revealed that he was enjoying this thoroughly.

"_Jaayyyyde…"_ he cooed again, putting on those infamous puppy-dog eyes when she continued to look at everything in the room but him, so after glancing over to find both Tre and Dotcom were outside, he leaned forward, lightly pressing his lips to the curve of her neck. He didn't kiss her yet, but simply hummed in his chest against the soft skin there before speaking in a low, quiet voice. "_Jaydie_…" he practically sang, finally puckering his lips to leave a kiss when she turned her head back to face him. "How-…" he started, leaving a light peck a little higher up her neck, before switching to the other side. "-can you-…" he left another kiss. "-be mad…" he kept going, this time moving to place another soft kiss on her right cheek. "-at _me?"_ His nose nudged her other cheek before one last kiss was placed there and he pulled back, admiring her eyes from mere inches. She was finally staring up at him, only remnants of her glare still evident on her face and Joker's scars stretched in a smirk. Her blue eyes watched his brown ones for several soul-searching seconds before she whispered.

"You kissed me last night."

At first, Joker felt his stomach clench up when he could not find a smile on her face but a second later, he went on, praying his suspicions were correct. "I'm bettin' you're glad I did, hm…" he murmured against her cheek, grinning when she exhaled heavily, leaning her head back on the couch to close her eyes.

"You're so…" she started but Joker cut in.

"Charming?…" he supplied, cocking his head to the side when she opened one eye to look up at him. At first, she looked incredibly annoyed by his antics this morning, but once he had winked at her, her lips pursed to keep from grinning. "Let me see your arm." He commanded a moment later, nodding toward her left arm in order to keep things moving; it was all about avoiding awkwardness at this point.

Slowly, Jayde raised her head and her arm at the same time, looking up at him as he leaned forward, frowning at it interestedly. She whimpered when he pressed gently on the bruise with his thumb and he hmm-ed as he released the pressure, apparently very intrigued by this wound.

"Alright, I have a good trick for making these things feel better," he said, glancing at Jayde's eyes with his eyebrows raised. "_Ready?"_ When she nodded, Joker slapped his hand hard against the welt, pressing his whole hand on it firmly when she squealed in pain. "Stop being a baby." He said sternly, glancing back and forth between her eyes a few times while she narrowed her glare at him. "Now…today we have a little…_thing _to do. _Sooo,_ I need you to go and get dressed, do whatcha gotta do, then come back down here." He paused, before nodding once. "Yes?"

"Yes."

Once her bedroom door had closed behind her, Jayde exhaled heavily, closing her eyes to rest her back against it. When she had rolled over in her bed, not even an hour earlier, she could remember sighing to herself, wondering wildly what had possibly come over her to let him kiss her like that, and to _respond,_ none the less. And yet she had still gone right downstairs and let him…be cute around her again. She had always known that Joker was incredibly good at morphing himself into some perfect, charming, smart, funny young guy only to act like a complete asshole the next second but she didn't think he could go so far as to actually make her feel weak from the way he had kissed her neck so lightly like that. She could still feel the light, scratchy stubble on his chin against her skin like a shadow and a slight shiver flowed through her from the top of her head to her toes. No, she could _not _ let him gain control over her again…She still had the upper hand at this point. With this in mind, Jayde went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and do something with her hair before going over to her closet to find something to wear…preferably something to catch his attention and remind him who he was dealing with.

In a pair of tight, black skinny jeans and a cotton, somewhat low v-neck gray shirt, Jayde finally emerged quietly from her room, closing the door behind her as silently as possible, hoping to spot the Joker before he spotted her. Miraculously, the sound of her door had been so faint, neither Tre nor Joker nor Dotcom had heard it and all three were still actively discussing something at the table downstairs. Jayde paused on the landing, watching from above.

Joker was showing a piece of paper to Tre and Dotcom, who both listened quietly, nodding or agreeing every now and again. As curious as she was in finding out what he was saying, her desire to stand there and stare at Joker's shoulder blades through the somewhat tight, white long-sleeved shirt he was wearing was far greater. Her eyes had just fallen onto the dip that followed his spine between his muscles when his voice raised.

"Jayde? Care to _join us_?" he asked loudly without even turning from the table although Tre and Dotcom looked up a second later, apparently unaware that she had been standing there. Jayde rolled her eyes at them behind Joker's back as she approached, rounding the table to pull out a chair and sit down. His eyes fell onto hers for only a second before he looked back over at Dotcom, raising his eyebrows as he squinted slightly.

"So you _think _you could be there at say…nine? She'll be unconscious so all I'll need you to do is just pull up to the curb outside the stairwell in the basement and help me get her in." he was saying, but Jayde now cut in, frowning as she held up a finger.

"I'm sorry but…are you talking about me?" she asked, glancing between the three guys. "Because I don't want to be unconscious…" she added a second later, crinkling her nose slightly. Tre laughed while Dotcom grinned sympathetically at her and Joker buried his face in his hands with his elbows on the table.

"_No, _Jayde…I'm not talking about _you_…" he answered in a falsely patient voice so she shut her mouth, resigning to silence as he finished explaining things to his guys. From the vague way he was speaking, it seemed as though Joker was withholding details now that she had joined them. But as was his way, she felt confident that he would explain the whole days plan to her once they were alone.

After a few minutes, Jayde had drifted out and was now staring blindly at a spot in the wood of the table as Joker spoke. His voice was deep and quiet at the moment, and she was just about to close her eyes sleepily when his hand smacked down heavily on the table close to her. She jumped with a gasp only to frown at him as he stood up from the table, sliding a set of keys from his back pocket.

"Let's get outta here," he said, holding out his other hand for her to take as she stood from the table. For a split-second she hesitated but then reached out, decided there was no harm in placing her smaller hand in his larger one to let him lead her over to the garage door. As they reached it, Joker turned, releasing her hand momentarily to hold up one finger at Tre and Dotcom. "'Member, fellas…Nine o'clock…" his shoulders hunched slightly as he whispered excitedly, "See ya then!"

As was customary with Jayde, only a fraction of a second passed after Joker had closed the driver's side before she turned to him and asked brightly "Where are we going?" Joker let out an amused laugh when his mind quickly took him back to the times when her curious, constant questions used to annoy him to the point of wanting to push her out of the speeding car. It now made him feel like throwing _himself _out of a speeding car when he realized he had gotten used to it.

"Well, _dearie_, we are going to your apartment," he growled, his voice raspy and low as he grinned at her from the corner of his eye. "Have a little…crime scene clean-up to do." The moment the words left him, he reached over, placing his hand over Jayde's mouth in an effort to keep her next question in. "_Shhhhhh…_No more questions." He then whispered, glancing over at her eyes as she glared at him from the top of his hand. A second later, he tsk-ed with a sigh when she stuck her tongue out from behind it, licking his fingers. "How _very _childish of you." He scolded with a frown, wiping her spit from his fingers on the shoulder of her shirt as she laughed, smacking his hand away.

"You're lucky I didn't fucking bite you." She answered, smirking through the window with a heavy roll of her eyes and a fold of her arms.

Twenty minutes later, the Escalade had just bounced into the basement level of Jayde's apartment building, leaving behind it the bustling, busy Monday morning traffic. The entire ride through Gotham, Jayde had kept glancing at Joker subtly every time they stopped at a light or stop sign, wondering why he was not more worried that someone was going to spot him through the windows. He had just sat there, scowling at all the people, looking into the passing cars curiously as normally as anyone would have and as they parked, Jayde turned to him, watching as he turned in his seat, reaching into the back.

"You aren't worried that someone is going to see you?" she asked abruptly and Joker's scowl deepened as he laughed through his nose.

"No," he answered flatly. "People are so oblivious, Jayde, ya wouldn't believe it." He turned back around a moment later, holding a black cloth messenger bag as he opened the door to get out. She followed him, figuring that he was right. Besides the scars on his face, there was not much out of the ordinary about him currently. What was more, he had his hair tied back into a tiny bun at the back of his head and from a distance, since the green dye had faded a good bit, Jayde couldn't see how anyone would look twice at what appeared to be a normal guy. Her lips twitched in a smirk when she noted how she kind of liked that about him and yet how dangerous and misleading that seemed.

At the door to her apartment, Joker paused to pull the keys from his pocket, glancing down the rest of the hall before turning to look down at her with a confused frown on his face. "Ya know? The last time I stood right here, I got this _really weird feeling_ that I was about to get my ass beat…" he said as though the phenomenon had been something foreign to him but his confused look faded quickly into a scowl as Jayde laughed.

"You're psychic!" she supplied, laughing harder when Joker rolled his eyes, stepping into the apartment as the door finally opened. She followed him in a few steps but both looked down simultaneously when something hard crunched underneath their shoes against the wood floor in the hallway. The forgotten shattered glass glimmered at them against the mid-morning sun and as Jayde watched it, smirking to herself, she could practically feel Joker glaring at her. Her eyes slowly rose to meet his before she burst out laughing at the expression on his face. She doubled slightly placing her hand on his arm to keep herself standing but he sighed, walking away into the living room.

"Oh, _please_." She called after him, following to watch as he set the bag down on the couch. "You know you deserved it." After a second, to her great surprise, he nodded with a shrug and slight roll of his eyes.

"Yeah," he admitted fairly, nodding his agreement as he sat down next to a few dark red stains on the carpet before he grumbled, "I just didn't expect you to hit me so fuckin' hard…" Jayde could not help the grin that spread across her face when his eyes just barely shifted to hers from under the ridge of his eyebrows and he looked back down to the stains a moment later, smirking to himself.

Being that Jayde had not really been feeling up to much of anything the last time she was there, she was now walking through her apartment, noticing how dirty and dusty everything looked and how it made her feel somewhat gross just being in there. Joker had now put a few chemicals on the stains on the carpet in the living room, giving off that bleachy ammonia type smell that instantly made her feel like cleaning. So after locating a cloth and wetting it at the sink, she walked through the kitchen and hallway, wiping dust from different surfaces as she went. The hallway was wretched as was most of the furniture in the living room and bedroom, but as she reached her nightstand, she hesitated, memories from months prior flooding her mind like some gate had been opened.

Quickly, she pulled the drawer open, immediately reaching inside to move several papers and random objects aside before her fingers faltered and she stood up straight. In the other room, she could hear that Joker was now scrubbing the carpet lightly with some sort of brush, so after grabbing the picture and necklace, she set the cloth down to walk back out to the living room.

He did not look up until she had sat down but the moment he had, his eyes immediately flew to the objects in her hand and his scrubbing ceased. Jayde watched his eyes for a moment or two until he looked back up at her and she blinked, stammering slightly.

"I uh-…still had these from when, you know…" she went to explain, handing him the somewhat crumpled picture and the necklace. He set the brush down next to him, taking the picture from her to stare at it and at first, Jayde got a feeling that she was about to be in trouble for having these. However, he smirked a second later, holding up the picture for her to see as if she hadn't looked at it every night for three months.

"That's me n' Tre." He explained although it was plainly obvious that she had seen it before and she could swear, as she nodded at him that Joker was feeling a little bit of genuine heart-felt warmth toward his best friend. Without even looking at it, Jayde could picture very clearly how both of them had been caught mid-laugh, both captured in their characteristic stances, Tre with his head thrown back and Joker half bent double, his nose wrinkled slightly. After gazing at it for a few moments, Joker looked back up, handing the chain back to Jayde with a blank look on his face.

"And _that _is yours." He specified once she had taken it back from him although he reached out a second later, holding the small bullet charm in his fingers to inspect it. "I'll never forget that as long as I live." He went on to mumble, releasing it to return to scrubbing as Jayde frowned.

"What- getting shot?" she asked but he shook his head.

"The way you looked at me when I told you to get it out." he answered, laughing to himself as she grinned.

With the powerful-smelling chemicals now slightly over-powering the apartment, Jayde watched from the kitchen as Joker walked over to her balcony doors to open them wide and pull the curtains back, taking a deep breath of the outside city air. Her eyes were no longer watching the pot she was scrubbing as she somewhat guiltily watched him step out onto the balcony, where he bent slightly, resting his forearms on the railing to peer out over Jayde's portion of the city. It was obvious this was where he felt most at home and was probably absorbing all of the honking horns and car alarms and sirens, the sight of all the people walking around. The longer she stood there, the more she wanted to go and stand next to him, but there was a good chance he just wanted to enjoy that moment by himself.

The pot she had been scrubbing was now perfectly clean and sitting in her dishwasher and Jayde was just about to finish the next one when she heard Joker step into the kitchen at the far end. She hesitated in looking up at him, and instead continued what she was doing until the smaller pot was clean and only then did she look up, once she had dried her hands.

"So, you gonna tell me why were really here?" she asked of him, hopping up onto the counter next to the sink as he leaned against it, cocking his head to the side, blinking blankly at her.

"If I told you now, what fun would that be?" he asked in return, arching an eyebrow. "Don't you like surprises?" Jayde shrugged.

"I've been getting a lot more surprises than usual lately." She explained, looking away when she felt Joker lean in. Her head turned back a moment later only to find his eyes inches from hers and she stopped short; he had gotten awfully close over the past two seconds.

"Like what, pray tell…" he requested politely, his voice quiet and low now. One of his eyebrows arched as his gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips and back up once or twice while she hastened to find an answer. Her own eyes slid down until she found the scar on his bottom lip. Joker blinked when she met his gaze again.

"Like you apologizing to me…" she answered, going slightly cross-eyed when Joker rested his forehead against her, looking down at her from that small distance. He blinked a few times, obviously thrown off a bit by her candidness.

"I didn't know what else to-…" he had finally been in the process of defending himself when Jayde cut him off, closing just the few inches of space between their faces to kiss him lightly. A moment later, her brain seemed to kick back in and she pulled away with a soft, nearly inaudible gasp while Joker's eyes narrowed and the tiniest of smirks pulled the top corner of his lip up, showing off a few of his teeth.

Jayde immediately felt her cheeks begin to warm as she fought to look at something else in the kitchen. "Sorry, I-…" she began, but Joker's hand was already up, turning her face back toward him.

"No, why?" he asked although he did not give her time to answer before he returned the kiss, taking a step closer to be in front of her knees at the edge of the counter. Jayde felt that melting, warming feeling return to flood through her and it took over her mind once again, preventing her from putting up any sort of defense. She responded to him immediately, not even giving second thought to it as she let her hands come to rest on his chest. Through her palm, she could feel his heart banging away, closely matching the way hers had started racing…she wondered foggily if he was feeling lightheaded as well...

Joker's hands had come to rest on the curve of her waist, placed there lightly, one closer to her ribs, the other down closer to her hipbone and Jayde felt his grip tighten only slightly when she leaned closer to him. Their lips moved slowly and gently against each others but Jayde could feel a rather dusty yet familiar, overwhelming need to taste him begin to creep up on her. It seemed Joker could tell what she was about to do, so he pulled away only slightly, opening his eyes a bit to gaze deep into hers, hoping she would understand without making him explain. If she were to let her tongue out just a little, just to taste him even only slightly, the action would most definitely trigger certain…chemical reactions in Joker's brain that he wished to keep subdued for the time being. He was honestly enjoying this and didn't want to mess _anything _up by doing something she wouldn't agree with. Moments later, to his immense relief, it appeared as though Jayde understood and just slightly, she leaned forward, reconnecting their still innocent kiss, hmm-ing contentedly against him when he replied.

Seconds built upon moments which turned into decades and Joker had just pulled back a bit, either to catch his breath or say something but Jayde found herself thoroughly unable to stop as she leaned forward slightly, catching his lips up again. Joker now growled against her mouth, causing the hair along her arms to raise and a second later, she felt him use his hands at the small of her back to pull her along the counter until she felt the edge on the very tops of her thighs. Her knees were forced to separate and Joker took that as an invitation to step between them, bringing his hands from her back to either side of her hips, pushing his thumbs against her hipbones firmly. As hard as Jayde tried not to let herself make a sound, whimper or moan, the soft, staggered breath that left her against his lips was completely natural and unstoppable. Instantaneously, they separated quickly as though some sort of electric shock had pushed them apart and now Jayde was looking down at her lap while Joker cleared his throat, glancing at something behind her.

Things had gone from perfect to unbearably awkward over the span of about a second and a half, leaving both of them completely unsure of what they could say or do to make this sort of feeling go away. Normally, by now, Joker would have found something funny or charming to say to break the tension but it seemed as he took a step back, that he was just as thrown off as Jayde was. It was obvious, sensations that neither of them had intended to feel had started to take over the moment Joker pulled her hips closer to his and now Jayde was hopping down off of the counter to walk over to her couch, unsurprised when Joker passed her to step out onto the balcony without a word.

He had stopped at the couch to pull a pack of cigarettes from his messenger bag and was now outside, seating himself in one of her patio chairs to rest his feet comfortably on the small table across from him. Smoke soon clouded the air around him and it was obvious that he intended to stay there for a while so she got comfortable on her old couch, flipping on the tv to yawn somewhat sleepily as her eyes grew heavy.

Behind him, Joker could hear the faint sound of the tv although he wasn't listening and did _not _care what she was watching. It seemed his entire body was tingling slightly from the pent up anxiety floating around it and although the cigarette he was half-done smoking had done wonders to calm the blazing rush of testosterone he had felt when Jayde kissed him that last time, he was still itching to make this anxious feeling go away. It had been _so _long since he had even seen Jayde without her shirt on, and now, as he sat there, watching over the busy street below with hawk-like eyes, all he could picture was that first time he had ever seen her naked. He could remember thinking how lucky he had gotten to get her to the point where she trusted him enough to be intimate with him. All he could do now was hope that he could get Jayde back to that point before he lost his mind from lack of…attention from her.

For several hours, Joker sat outside on Jayde's balcony, musing quietly to himself, watching closely the busy goings-on on the street below, wondering wildly if someone was about to look up and spot him. He could almost hear the panicked scream let out by some horrified woman. "_Oh my god! It's the Joker!" _The sound of this in the back of his mind triggered a laugh that left him quietly.

He was just in the process of convincing himself that nobody even noticed that there was somebody sitting on a balcony high above them when he realized that the sun was starting to go down and Jayde had not made a noise on the couch inside in quite some time. The blank noise behind him explained that the television was still on so he sat up, turning slightly in the chair to peer into the apartment. A second later, he sighed, rolling his eyes; Jayde was asleep on her side facing the back of the couch. Turning back around again, he reached up, running his hands along his scarred cheeks slowly, figuring that there was no better time to do it than while she was practically unconscious.

So after standing over Jayde for several long moments, as if testing to see if she was actually asleep and convincing himself that she was, Joker knelt down, quietly pulling his bag toward him to retrieve the smaller black bag from within it. Still crouched, he turned, sliding the remote slowly from the edge of the couch to push the volume button up a notch or two before putting it right back and slinking silently out of the room.

It was not the sound of the television that woke Jayde, although she did notice that it was on somewhat loud, but rather the loud echoing scream of several police cruisers as they sped by on the street below. The sound had been magnified double by the closeness of the buildings and now Jayde lay on her back with her hand over her chest, breathing deeply. There had been some horrible wrenching feeling she felt at that sound, that flew her body into a panic and woke her from a dead sleep with a loud gasp.

Sitting up to try and shake it off, Jayde looked over to find that the Joker was no longer seated on her balcony and for several moments, she paused, staring at the empty chair, remembering the police sirens just then…Her head looked over toward the door to her bedroom when a noise from her bathroom reached her ears beneath the sound of the tv. A smirk met her lips a second later when she stood up to go find him.

By the time she reached the doorway to her bathroom, Jayde was grinning stupidly to herself, wondering what on earth he was doing, but the moment she turned the corner, she stopped short, her eyes immediately flying to his face. He had turned at the same time and was now grinning down at her widely, tightening the fresh, black rings around his eyes.

"Oh…" he started. "_Heeeey…" _his voice was raspy and low and despite herself, Jayde could not help but grin, shaking her head from left to right, slowly.

"Bad time?" she asked with an eyebrow arched as she took a step from the door frame. Joker laughed in reply, reaching out to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"_Perfect_ time. Have a seat." He growled in a very bouncy, clowny voice, pointing at the top of the back of the toilet. "So here's the deal," he started once Jayde had sat and he proceeded to apply his 'war paint' as though she were not even there, tilting his head to the side slightly to see better in the light. "Linman was kind enough to find out that your 'bff' Detective Oh-_livia_ is done with her shift at nine. So I need you to call her and tell her that you got another letter and that you just want her to come _here_ to pick it up when she gets done with work. Very casual, alright?" Several seconds of silent passed while Jayde watched him apply white greasepaint in long even strokes.

"Then you're going to kill her…" she supplied and ending to his instructions for him, forcing a loud short laugh from Joker that seemed to somewhat burst out of him.

"No," he answered, shaking his head. "I'm going to knock her out here then take her back to the house…and _then _I'm going to kill her. So…yes, actually."

"_Why _though?" she probed further, although it was obvious Joker was growing a little tired of being examined at the moment and he sighed irritably as he set down the brush he was using.

"She's an _example-kill, _Jayde." He started, raising his eyebrows as he leaned toward slightly. "Know what an…example-kill is?" He paused, waiting for her to answer. When she merely shook her head, he went on. "In every great diabolical…'_plan'_ there is an example-kill…A person you kill to make an example out of them. When people hear of or see a dead body, they immediately imagine if it was them or if it was one of their loved ones, how they would feel. So making an example of somebody prominent is a good way to kinda...ripen people up a bit, ya see?" When Jayde continued to stare at him, he slowly grinned, stretching the half-finished red lines on his face. "Its all…part of the plan, Jayde."

Before too long, Joker had finished the rest of his makeup and was now walking over to the living room carpet to soak up what was left of the bloodstains. By the time Jayde had swept up all the glass by the door, by his request, he was taking a seat on the couch, tossing her phone into her lap once she had sat down next to him.

"Alright, remember." He whispered as though she were already on the phone. "'I'm super scared, here's this letter, aaaand…action." Jayde rolled her eyes, smirking when he winked at her with a point of his finger.

After dialing and putting in on speaker, the phone began to ring and ring and ring and at first, it did not seem as though she was going to answer and Jayde was just about to hang up when the detective's voice came through the other end. Joker's eyebrows slowly started to arch in a very sinister glare at the woman's voice and he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck start to tingle.

"Hey, Jayde!"

"Hey, Olivia," she tried to sound somewhat nervous as Joker watched her now closely, his eyes narrowed, aiding her attempt to seem anxious. "I um-…got something else in the mail today…I was wondering if you could come by and pick it up."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, giving way to the busy city sounds behind the detective; she must have just stepped outside. "Oh!" she finally said. "Yeah, I'll be right over. Like ten minutes."

"Ok, thank you."

With that, they hung up, and Joker immediately stood from the couch, shaking his head with a laugh as he swung his messenger bag across his chest. "Silly, gullible detectives…" he practically sang, tilting his head to each side as he lead her over to the door, holding it open for her to walk through. "…-Always getting into _trooouble…"_

After locking her house behind them, Jayde followed Joker down the hallway to the stairwell, where he paused to pull a small walkie-talkie from his bag, turning it on before pressing the button on the side. "Alright, girls, where are we?…" he asked in a raspy, low voice, releasing the button. A soft 'csh' came through before Tre's deep voice.

"Ay, dog, enough with the 'girls' shit, man." he said. Joker grinned to himself. "We're in the basement, it's nine now, she's not here?"

"No, but she will be soon. She's in a navy blue, unmarked P71. Start backing up when you see her walk into the stairwell."

With a nod of his head, Joker started trotting down the stairs, glancing at his watch as they went. "Alright, Jayde," he finally stopped at the top of the last section of stairs leading down into the basement and turned to face her, taking his bag from over his shoulder to place it over hers. "Hold onto this. All I want you to do is stand right here and get her attention when she walks into the stairwell. Say…'hey' or something, I don't know." Again, he glanced at his watch before reaching into the bag at her side to pull out a plastic bag, containing a folded, damp rag. "Remember, get her attention so she's looking up at you."

With that, he trotted down the last few steps before he disappeared into the shadows underneath the stairwell, watching, waiting. For over a minute, Jayde stood there in total silence, her heart pounding away loudly against her chest. Any second, the detective was going to come through that door and Joker was going to come flying out from the blackness like some ghost. Her mind was so busy imagining this that Jayde jumped with a few blinks when she heard the distant closing of a car door and her stomach twisted up into knots. Any second…

Several very key things happened almost all at the same time, so quickly, Jayde barely even knew it had. Outside the door to the stairwell, a loud rumbling engine started up, just before the tall, somewhat broad shouldered detective walked through the door. Jayde had just opened her mouth to say something distracting when Joker slid out of the shadows behind her, just as she had noticed Jayde at the top of the stairs. She had just looked up and smiled, a split second from opening her mouth to say hi when Joker's hand, complete with chloroform-soaked rag closed over her nose and mouth. Instantly, her eyes rolled back and closed, her body went limp from head to toe and Joker groaned slightly when she fell back onto him.

Out of nowhere, Tre was beside him, as if he had just appeared there and suddenly both of them were carrying the detective only about five feet to the back of the Escalade that Dotcom had driven right up to the curb. As soon as they had rolled Olivia into the back, where the seats had already been folded down to make a flat surface, Joker jumped in, holding out his hand to pull Jayde in along with them. Within seconds, they were pulling away from the apartment building as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. Jayde allowed several long moments of silence to go by before she exclaimed, "Holy SHIT!"


	18. Example Kill pt2

"Holy SHIT!"

From the two front row of seats, Tre and Dotcom both laughed and across from her in the back, Joker chuckled to himself as he dug through the messenger bag she had just handed him.

"Yes, darling, we are professionals." He said, glancing up as he pulled out a syringe and a long rubber tube. Jayde would have said something in return but was too busy watching now as Joker climbed over to sit next to Olivia's unconscious body, pulling her right arm closer to him. After knotting the tube around her upper arm tightly, he brought the syringe to his teeth, pulling the cap off before leaning down. It appeared as though he was about to put the needle in her arm when he paused and glanced over at Jayde. He said her name to get her attention. "Come shine your phone right here so I can see…"

Jayde obeyed him, tilting the phone just right to watch as he patted her raised vein a few times with his finger before sticking the needle in and injecting the detective with the clear liquid. A moment later, he sat back down, patting the woman hard on the head as if she had been awake enough to cooperate. It was obvious to him from the way she was staring that a million and one questions were zooming around in that mind of hers so he went ahead and explained. "Chloroform only lasts so long. I can't afford to have her wake up yet…Which reminds me…" He reached out a second later, unhooking the woman's police-issued Gloc from it's place at her belt.

Before Jayde could hardly blink, the Escalade was bouncing back into the driveway of the huge house, crunching along the gravel noisily as Dotcom backed them into the garage. Almost instantly, Joker had gotten the back open and was jumping out to tug the limp detective's body toward the end of the tailgate. Again, Tre was at his side, taking the Olivia's ankles in his hands to help Joker carry her inside. Jayde and Dotcom followed, opening and closing the door for them and as she watched them haul the body across the bottom floor, Jayde could not help but grin slightly at how strange this all looked.

At the top of the stairs, Joker dropped the detective's upper body like she was just some gym bag and he pointed downstairs at Dotcom, taking a deep breath. "You and Tre go back and get the truck and her cruiser. Kelly will be meeting you in the basement to drive the truck back." After a pause, Joker tossed his hand at both of them, raising his eyebrows. "Go, _now!"_ his voice raised momentarily before he tilted his head to the side. "I need all three vehicles back here within an hour, _please._"

Immediately, Tre trotted off down the stairs, following Dotcom back out to the Escalade and before long, the sound of the engine died away before Joker looked to Jayde, and she to him. He nodded toward his office door with his head as he moved to pick Olivia's arms up again. "Open the door for me, will ya?"

Jayde hastened to obey him, rushing past him to throw open the door and close it behind them once he had dragged her into the room. Finally, he let go of her arms, standing up to crack his back a few times with a cringe and he noticed Jayde watching him, her eyes slightly wide. A second later, she blinked, following him across the room as he turned off the lights as he went.

"When will she wake up?" she asked as he sat down at his computer desk, pressing the button on the monitor so that blue light came back to illuminate his large office. He shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the unconscious police-woman on the floor.

"Probably in about fifteen minutes. That drug is not very strong but she'll be pretty weak so I may give her a little time to work up some fight, or I may not. I haven't really decided yet.." he had long since finished answering Jayde and was now thinking aloud to himself. It was becoming obvious that Joker hadn't really given much thought to this particular kill although a few seconds later, he stood up from the chair abruptly, taking a few steps away. He stopped, only to turn and raise an eyebrow at her as he pointed one finger, low at her. "Stay here and don't move, understand?"

Goosebumps carpeted Jayde, raising all of the hair along her arms but in sharp contrast to how things had been lately, she was currently experiencing the 'not-sexy' kind of chills as he glared down at her. She nodded hastily, immediately reaching up to rub her hands on her opposite arms, hunching slightly as Joker disappeared into the dark shadows on the far side of the room. Her eyes strained to follow him, however, the darkness was too thick and the room too long, so Jayde could only hear him rifling around for something.

At the other end of the room, Joker was just pulling a clean, empty syringe from a box at the metal cabinet when he heard rustling from the middle of the room and suddenly his head was pounding, deafening him with the sound of blood rushing in his ears. The room seemed to be pulsating slightly and he grinned as he closed his eyes slowly, taking a deep, invigorating breath in that felt as though it reached all the way down into his toes, causing his body to vibrate slightly. A quiet, weak groan met his ears beneath the sound of his rapid heartbeat and just as Joker tilted his head back, his eyes shot open. Suddenly, there was no such thing as Jayde, there was nothing floating in the back of his mind, no supreme itch anymore…there was only the Joker…and his prey.

Walking toward the source of the moaning, Joker dropped to his knees a few feet from the detective in the pitch blackness, crawling closer slowly until he was close enough to grab her arm. The drugs in her system were still rendering her unable to move, although he could assume that her head was about ready to split open from the chloroform mask she had worn earlier. The whimper that left Olivia when he pushed the needle into her arm told Joker that she was indeed awake and obviously able to feel pain. He giggled through his nose when he thought of how confused and _scared_ she must be…but then again,she _was _a big tough police officer…

The first words out of the detectives mouth sent Joker into another giggling fit.

"Where am I?" she asked groggily, her speech slurring slightly as she struggled to lift her head. Joker rolled his eyes as he pulled the syringe, now full of her blood, away from her arm, capping it again to place it up on the metal table. If she was the type for conversation, then so was he.

"Where do you _think_ you are, Olivia Mitchell?" he asked quietly, sitting Indian style just next to where she lay on the floor, watching her face as her eyes opened, glossy and dilated in the dim blue light from the other side of the room.

"I think I'm at the sorry excuse for life, the Joker's, hideout." She answered and he laughed, rocking back slightly.

"Gaining a little fight back…" he observed aloud, standing quickly to turn on the examination light hanging above them. "Good to know…" Instantly, a bright pool of light suddenly surrounded the detective, somehow leaving the rest of the room black. She was laying on her side, her arms stretched out before her, bent in rather awkward positions. A second later, Joker had leaned down, pulling the shiny golden police badge from her belt, causing Olivia to jump, opening her eyes to glare up at him as he held it under the light, scowling at it slightly. He was about to explain to her why he thought it so silly to wear this when the detective on the floor took his moment to speak.

"Jayde…Jayde was there. What'd you do to her?" she asked lethargically, lifting her head to look around the room as if expecting to find her laying somewhere, partially paralyzed like she was. From above her, the Joker let out a ridiculous laugh, doubling slightly as he held his arm out toward the blackness.

"Well, I haven't done anything to her, de-_tect-_ive…" he answered with that horrible, raspy voice of his and not seconds later, Jayde came sliding out of the darkness toward him, her gazed fixed on his as his head lowered, eyeing her as she walked up to him. Her hand reached out toward him as if she had known that's what he had been hoping she would do and he took it in his right hand, leading her over until she could stand right in front of him. He turned their bodies toward the detective, who was now pushing herself to a sitting position with great effort.

Jayde was trembling from head to toe and she wondered wildly if Joker could feel it when he pressed his chest to her back, bringing one arm to wrap around her shoulders comfortably. His other hand reached up to grip his forearm and the underside of his chin came to rest on the top of her head. He blinked down at the detective, slowly grinning maliciously as realization dawned on her face.

He could not see from behind her, but he _sincerely _hoped Jayde was smiling or at least grinning down at the detective as her eyes filled rapidly with tears at how comfortable and admittedly _happy _she looked, standing there in the arms of a killer. Joker closed his eyes against Jayde's hair a second later, taking a deep breath in as he felt her body relax slightly in his embrace.

Olivia was staring up at Jayde with a look of absolute disbelief and extreme hurt and for a few moments, she started to feel extraordinarily bad but moments later, in some whirlwind of memories, Jayde remembered the sickeningly fake manner the detective had used with her after she had 'rescued' her from the one person she felt most comfortable around. She laughed through her nose, shaking her head as she turned in Joker's arms to look straight up at him, seemingly unsure of what to do. He grinned down at her, stretching his red, painted scars and tightening those black rings around his eyes. Her gaze bounced back and forth between his dilated eyes, suddenly feeling as though she were making a statement of sorts. She hoped he understood that this was what she had chosen- her back was to normality, steadiness and instead she stood face to face with chaos and confusion, willingly choosing the latter, following with her eyes shut and hands outstretched.

Leaning down just the tiniest of bits, Joker pressed his lips against hers, glancing over her shoulder at the detective before he closed his eyes, bringing one of his hands up. He had just been about to rest it gently at the side of her face when Olivia's raspy, tired voice broke them apart.

"You…You set me up?…" she paused, rising onto her knees finally, only to sway a bit and sink back down. Tears were now streaming down her face, falling and leaving dark stains on her royal blue satin shirt. "You set me up! YOU BITCH!" she finally screamed, trembling slightly in her rage as her eyes shut tight, fighting against the light and the horrible headache she was experiencing.

Joker had just opened his mouth with a frown to scold the detective for calling his lady-friend a bitch when Jayde turned quickly, taking a step closer to lean down slightly with her hands on her knees. She nodded fervently.

"I did, actually. And you know why?" she asked, leaning down even further when the detective hung her head. From back in the shadows, Joker stepped up alongside her, placing his arm gently around her shoulders.

"Because she obeys _me _now..." he growled, releasing Jayde a second later, to kneel down in front of the detective, tilting his head to the side mockingly. "I'm going to kill you, Olivia Mitchell." He went on to say, nodding his head when she shook hers back and forth, her face crumpling in tears. "Oh, yes…I am…But I feel like you deserve to know why, first…" he paused, raising his eyebrows. "Wouldn't you like to know why?" Another few moments passed where Olivia tried to say no but instead seemed to give up and she finally exhaled slowly, hanging her head so far, her chin nearly rested on her chest.

Joker closed the gap between them by another foot or so, practically inches from the woman's face while Jayde watched from the shadows, gripping herself tightly. The room seemed to be buzzing with the evil, almost demonic energy that normally clouded the Joker's aura when he was about to make a kill. Goosebumps broke out all over Jayde again and she shivered. Joker was still speaking but she could barely hear him over the loud, throbbing ringing in her ears.

"Because you and all your little pals tried to take the one thing from me that makes me happy." He said, giggling, trembling with pent-up energy. "I'm a selfish guy, detective, I admit it. I don't like having things taken away from me, especially when the _thing _ looks like that." His arm pointed blindly behind him to where Jayde stood; she felt her stomach twist into knots. "I'm going to destroy your city, detective, but first, I will put your body on display for everyone to see. So consider this a favor."

It happened so fast, Jayde barely had time to gasp with a jump when Joker's right hand appeared out of nowhere, sinking a short knife deep into the detective's neck quickly, swiftly before he tossed it to the side, reaching out to put his hand up next to the gushing wound on her neck. It seemed that from being as weak as she had been, the detective had passed out upon impact with Joker's knife and the color was draining rapidly from her as Joker rested her head down on the tile floor.

With quick fingers, Joker had pulled a long plastic tube from seemingly nowhere and was now reaching up to the dead detective's still streaming neck, inserting it far enough in until the blood now began to drain into the tubing. Jayde was so enraptured with watching him hold the tube up and stopper the end with his finger that she did not hear him say her name the first time.

"Jayde!" he raised his voice and she jumped, blinking several times with wide eyes. "Go get that bag on the counter over there." She obeyed immediately, rushing across the room to blindly grab a plastic, blood donation bag from his table, too shaken up at the moment to even wonder where he had gotten one of these. She returned at his side a moment later, holding it out to him. He reached out, taking it from her, his wet, blood-covered fingers gracing lightly against hers, leaving a smear of the detectives blood on her trembling hand. Jayde stomach churned uncomfortably but she didn't dare wipe it on her clothes anywhere, remembering Joker's words from months ago about evidence and importance of destroying or preserving it.

Rising back up to take several steps back, Jayde watched as Joker sat next to the body of Olivia Mitchell, watching closely as her blood continued to drain from her, flowing freely into the bag as her face and exposed flesh grew more ashen and pale by the second. Far off, on the other side of the wall, Jayde could hear the garage door open and close and she was about to turn hastily as if to look through the wall when Joker's voice again caused her to jump.

"Go get Tre and tell him to come up here." He instructed, staring over his shoulder at her as she gaped blankly back at him, her mouth opening and closing noiselessly as she struggled to find something to ask or say. "_Now." _He specified again, rolling his eyes to himself when she scurried off and out of the room, closing the door behind her as she went.

Outside of his office, Jayde blinked furiously, having forgotten about the lights in the rest of the house and how dim the previous room had been. Tre and Dotcom were both standing downstairs, talking in hushed, somewhat anxious-sounding voices although they both turned and looked up when she began walking down the stairs toward them. Dotcom's eyes immediately flew to hers and she glanced quickly at him before looking back up at Tre.

"He says to go up to his office," she told him, surprised to find her voice shaky and rather soft at the moment. Hopefully, neither of them noticed; she did not want to give off the impression of not being able to handle what she had just seen. Tre took off toward the stairs at a trot, leaving Dotcom and Jayde standing near the kitchen where silence descended.

"You ok?" Dotcom finally asked, leaning to the side slightly to put himself in Jayde's line of vision as she stared off into space. She nodded quickly a second later although from the look on her face she was positive Dotcom could tell she was feeling a little sick to her stomach. "C'mon…" he murmured, putting his arm around her to walk over to the sliding glass doors and lead her out. After making sure she was seated in the chair all safe and sound, he took a seat at the middle chair, just next to her, watching her.

Her chest rose and fell heavily as she took a deep breath in, exhaling with a slight groan when she felt a little of the inability to breathe leaving her. To her surprise, her knee had started to bounce at some point but a moment later, she forced herself to stop; there was going to be _none_ of that…Knee-bouncing was the Joker's thing…

At the table next to her, Dotcom had just lit a cigarette and seemed to be debating with himself on whether to offer her one or not. However, her hand reached out a moment later, deciding that this might actually help her calm down a little. Her stomach still felt a little upset but luckily, the feeling was starting to ebb away gradually, the more deep breaths of fresh outdoor air she took. As she lit the cigarette, part of her wanted to wonder what Tre and Joker could possibly be doing upstairs now, but she shook the thought away, realizing quickly after a churn of her stomach that she totally didn't want to know.

Moments evolved into minutes and the somewhat comfortable silence stretched on between the two of them. It seemed through their great friendship that Dotcom could understand that she really didn't feel like talking and just needed to be left to her thoughts for the time being. Jayde appreciated this more than she could express with words and her eyes had just fallen onto a crack in the patio floor when the sliding glass door slid open slowly behind her. Her already on-edge nerves forced her to gasp slightly but she sighed a second later, closing her eyes to take a deep breath when Joker stepped out, frowning down at her with one eyebrow arched. She looked up only briefly to notice that he had washed the blood that had coated his hands off and was now wearing a clean, gray cotton t-shirt.

Joker let his eyes glance at Dotcom to get his assessment of Jayde's current well-being only to receive a shrug in return. A second later, he nodded his head toward the door with a roll of his eyes, indicating that if he was going to be of no help, he had to leave. His computer nerd stood immediately, putting out his cigarette to silently leave the patio, sliding the glass door closed behind him as he went.

It seemed Jayde was so immersed in her thoughts that she failed to even notice that Dotcom had left and that the filter of her cigarette was burning, but the moment Joker pulled up a chair to sit directly in front of her, she jumped slightly but sighed again. Reaching out, Joker pulled the completely burnt out cigarette from between her fingers, dropping it in the ashtray before he turned back to face her, leaning forward slightly. His gaze flickered back and forth between her eyes a few times as his forehead wrinkled slightly in a half frown.

"You alright, kid?" he asked quietly, his voice somewhat low and soothing while across from him, Jayde exhaled, nodding her head. Honestly, just the fact that he had come outside to ask her that made her feel leagues better than she had been moments before.

"Yeah," she answered, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, running her hands up and into her hair to push it away from her face. "I'm just…" She paused, trying to decide if the word 'scared' was too much of an overstatement or even the right term for how she was feeling. "I'm just tired." She corrected herself, sitting back up again to nod at him with finality. Joker returned the nod, his frown morphing quickly into a scowl.

"You're also feeling disturbed by what you've just seen, probably a little sickened by the blood on your hand, and yet…a _little _confused as to why it turns you on when you watch me kill someone." He joked, winking at her when she finally broke a smile, laughing lightly. If she was being completely honest with him, he had hit the nail on the head and just perfectly described everything she was feeling, but to admit that to him would mean admitting that he really could read her better than just about anyone.

It seemed that Joker did not need an answer from her and was now rising from his chair to hold out his hand to her. "C'mon. You need a shower and to just sleep this off." He suggested, pulling gently on her arm when she rose from her chair to follow him inside.

As they passed the door to the garage, Jayde could hear muffled voices on the other side, one distinctly belonging to Dotcom and the other, she didn't recognize but there was no time here for finding out now. The Joker was still leading her to the stairs by the hand, trotting up ahead of her until they reached the top. Further down the hall, to the right, Jayde could see that Joker's office door was half-closed but instead of leaving herself time to wonder what was going on in there, she continued to follow him to her room, yawning as she went.

It seemed as they reached her door, that Joker was trying to do his 'being respectful' routine again and stopped there, letting go of her hand to lean against the frame, smirking down at her. She looked back up at him briefly before letting her eyes fall to the middle of his shirt. As much as she appreciated his attempt at being a gentleman, she honestly just wanted him to lay down with her until she fell asleep…She had a feeling telling him this would send him a heap of mixed messages.

"You gonna be ok?" he asked, glancing over her shoulder at the bottom floor to double-check it was empty…it was. In front of him, Jayde nodded, reaching up to tuck a few of her curls behind her ear.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I just need some sleep." She answered convincingly, although a second later, her eyes closed and she sighed when Joker leaned down, bringing his hand up to the other side of her face as he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Goodnight." He put simply and with that, he set off down the hall, reaching up to tie his hair into a small bun. Jayde could not help but watch him walk off, wondering vaguely how stupid she would feel if she called out after him, asking him to come and sleep in her bed with her, just for that night. Her eyes rolled a second later when he turned into his office, closing the door quietly behind him.

After washing her hands for five minutes at the sink, Jayde shivered as she stepped into the hot shower, turning her back to it as the water began to matt her hair down. Maybe Joker had been right, she was observing to herself when she lathered her hair with her coconut shampoo; perhaps all she needed was a shower and some sleep to bring her back. Just the smell of the shampoo was working wonders and she took a deep breath in of the cleansing steam, exhaling heavily.

While Jayde dressed, fifteen minutes later, she tried to put her finger on what sort of emotion this was that she was feeling over watching the most recent of the Joker's killings. She wanted to call it scared, only because that's honestly how it felt, but as she crawled into bed, it started to feel like something else. She was not _scared_ of the Joker; there were just too many reasons not to be. She was not _scared_ of being killed or being caught or anything, again because there were too many reasons not to be.

With the light now off in her room, Jayde quickly fumbled for the remote to turn the television on, surprised to find her stomach clench up uncomfortably in the complete darkness. As the comforting bluish light filled the room, Jayde frowned, staring up at the sheen material over the top of her bed. She could not remember feeling like _that _ since she was a young child and was 'afraid of the dark'. Had watching the Joker kill reverted her back to that fear? _No, _she told herself adamantly, turning over onto her side to face the window. An instant later her eyes were shut, although instead of that instant, sleepy feeling one experiences when falling asleep, her mind felt wide awake and practically whirring with different thoughts. Her eyes popped open again.

Jayde rolled over for what felt like the thousandth time since laying down only to groan loudly at the time she read on the alarm clock next to her bed. The small hand was just past the two and the long hand an inch or so below it, past the three. 2:15. Rolling onto her back, Jayde brought her hand up to rest on her forehead, closing her eyes with a sigh. Sleep had come no nearer to her than ever over the past two hours of tossing and turning and still, that eerie, creeped out feeling lingered in the back of her mind. The television was still on with the sound down low and as Jayde turned back onto her side to try once more, she wondered vaguely if the Joker had gone to bed yet.

Through all her tossing and turning, she hadn't really thought to listen for his office door opening or even the distant closing of his bedroom door and as she grew more curious, she cursed at herself for even wondering that. Now, she had to get up and creep her to bedroom door to peer down and find out, or else she would _never _go to sleep.

Without second thought, Jayde turned over to stand up, tossing her blankets back to walk over to her door, opening it as slowly and silently as she could. Her head stuck out a moment later, looking out at the completely dark, completely silent house and that eerie feeling intensified ever so slightly. She swallowed hard to make the nervous lump in her throat go away but instead of going back in her room, Jayde took another couple steps out, glancing down at the dark bottom floor to double check that no one was awake and lurking in the shadows…besides her.

As she reached the stairs, Jayde hesitated, seriously considering going back to her room when her eyes fell onto the half-open door to Joker's office. It was just as dark in there as it was out in the hall, so she took a step closer, now looking down toward the two bedrooms at the end of the hall. The closer she grew to Dotcom's door, she began to notice a flickering blue light coming from under his door; obviously, she was not the only one who liked to sleep with a tv on. There were no sounds coming from his room, so assuming that he was asleep and had no interest in talking or keeping Jayde company at two-fifteen in the morning, she continued until she found herself face to face with Joker's closed door.

She paused there, turning to face it, mildly surprised to find her heart rate increasing slightly, and instantly, options began to flow through her mind. On one hand, she could go back down to her room, shut the door, lay there and struggle to sleep for another few hours, but on another hand, she could reach out to see if Joker's door was unlocked. Her hand reached out a second later, hesitating for a split second before she touched her fingers to the knob, tightening her grip to _very _slowly and silently turn it to the right.

When she met no resistance, Jayde's heart began to bang out of control and before she could stop herself, she had opened the door the tiniest of bits and slipped inside, turning her back to the room immediately to close it quietly behind her. As always, the Joker's room was completely pitch black and although Jayde had not been in there in a while, she could safely assume that his bed was right where it used to be at the far wall against the corner. A soft, deep breathing sound came from the darkness out across from her, and Jayde could not help but grin to herself as she stood still for several long moments, hoping to keep him asleep through her entire attempt. If things were about to go according to plan, Jayde would be able to climb up on his bed, slip under the covers across from him and slide right off to sleep then he would wake up in the morning with her in his bed. It seemed unlikely, but even in the event that he woke up, Jayde was going to fight to stay in this room; she already felt a little more at ease.

Once her eyes had adjusted to the dark a bit, Jayde let herself take a couple steps forward toward his bed after locating the far post of his black canopy and after bringing her right knee up, she pulled herself into a crawling position, moving as gently and slowly as she could. Her heart was beating so loudly, Jayde was almost positive it was about to wake him up. Any second, she could imagine him flying out of sleep to put his hands around her neck and her stomach twisted up once again when her mind played her a quick image of that. For a moment, she considered abandoning the plan completely and making a run for the door…but her eyes had fallen onto the barely illuminated silhouette of the Joker, laying on his side, facing the wall with both arms stretched out on the bed in front of him. His side fell slowly and evenly, matching the gentle rhythm she had heard from the door.

Slightly emboldened, Jayde crawled up a foot or so more until she could turn her hips just a little and lay down as smoothly as possible, less than a half-foot from the tips of his relaxed hands. A slow, soothing breath left her silently against the soft pillow and instantaneously, her whole body felt at ease. While Joker's bed was impossibly comfortable, just the fact that she was in the same room with him, listening to his deep breathing was enough to comfort her immensely. Her eyes had closed and finally felt heavy and somewhat warm with oncoming sleepiness when she heard him take a deep breath in behind her, only to sigh a moment later with a sleepy groan.

Joker's eyes slid open slowly to reveal his dark bedroom but he blinked several times, tensing the muscles in his forearms as he stretched slightly. His fingers flexed then relaxed as he yawned with a scowl when he realized gradually, through the thick haze of sleepiness floating about his brain, that there was _someone_ in his bed. At first, he closed his eyes, thinking it would wake him up more and cause the illusion of Jayde in laying in his bed just a foot from him to disappear. But he opened them again, a second later, blinking hard a few times when he could still see the curvy contour of her side, rising and falling slowly in the tiny sliver of moonlight creeping out from the corner of his window behind the thick blanket. His pointer finger straightened out again, leaving Joker to arch an eyebrow when he could feel the material of her tank top against it. Finally, a sleepy smirk attacked his face, pulling up on one of his scars as he took a deep breath, reaching out slowly to wrap his arm gently around her hips.

Jayde had been positive that she had not woken him but the moment that deep, sleepy, contented hum left him behind her, she had grinned, honestly a little glad her movements hadn't been stealthy enough. Another heavy sigh escaped from Joker as he pulled her gently across the bed until her back met his chest and the lower half of her body felt right into the curve of his like a puzzle piece. A short, surprise shiver left Jayde from the warmth of his body against her slightly cold skin and she could not help but let herself scoot a little bit closer to him. Joker hummed contentedly, sliding his eyes closed again.

As much as he wanted to ask why she was there, he found that it honestly didn't matter and that he probably already had a pretty good guess. She had been so shaken up earlier, even more so than the first few times she watched him kill, that he didn't really know why hadn't just asked her if she wanted to sleep with him in the first place. It didn't matter, he hadn't thought of it, so what?

Joker's left arm was draped over her side and the hand of his that rested on the bed in front of her reached up to her smaller one and slipped under it, separating his fingers slightly to let the tips of hers slide in between the spaces. A sleepy smirk met Jayde's face when his lips came to rest lightly on the top of her shoulder, leaving a soft kiss there, before another, equally innocent one just beside it. She tried hard not sigh but could not help the way it escaped her, slowly; this was the most comfortable she had felt in quite some time.

His bed was so warm and his body even warmer that all Jayde's foggy mind could let her do for the next few minutes was lay there and let him rub her back slowly, deeply, gently, up once and down again, down her arms and back up, soothingly. It was obvious he was only trying to help her fall asleep and be at ease, but the longer Jayde lay there, the more she noticed that dusty yet wonderfully familiar tingling return to more than one place. She wondered if Joker knew what he was doing or if he was just laying there half-asleep, mindlessly petting her. She also wondered if stretching out with an arch of her back against his chest would be enough to either wake him up a little or get him to stop rubbing her down.

Joker took a deep breath in through his nose, exhaling against Jayde's shoulder as she tilted her head back slightly in her arching stretch, and before he could stop himself, the hand that had been in the middle of sliding down her back slipped onto her curved side, gripping gently. His eyes opened only to fall onto the delicate curve of her neck in the darkness just in front of him, curving gently and looking softer than any surface Joker had ever seen. He was absolutely positive that she tasted fantastic and smelled like coconut so with her hair strewn out behind her, he leaned down to press his lips against that perfect, exposed curve.

Her body reacted immediately to the sensation, her jaw dropping slightly and her hips rocking forward as she tilted her head back further. Joker responded by tugging back on her hips gently, parting his lips to finally let his tongue trace along the amazingly soft skin there, trying not to grin when he heard a low, staggered breath escape Jayde in front of him. His teeth nipped at her skin in the tiniest of bites, several times in a row before he would go back and kiss the places he had marked, leaving tiny red marks in a line up the length of her neck. At first, she had gasped a few times then let out one tiny giggle before finally, he had reached that _one _spot, the one special area that as soon as he pressed his lips to it, teasing it with the tip of his tongue, she let out an unavoidable, completely instinctual moan.

Joker let out a heavy breath as goosebumps rose up all along his arms and shoulders, pulling away when he felt his entire body react to the noise she had just made. His eyes closed as he lay down on his back, putting several inches of distance between himself and Jayde so he could fight it off for a few minutes. He could hear her turn her head to look over her shoulder at him, obviously a little confused as to why he had stopped so abruptly, but he thanked her silently a moment later when she seemed to understand without making him explain. There was movement on the bed next to him, but Joker just figured she was getting comfortable to drift off…he was not expecting her to be at his side, facing him when he opened his eyes.

Her lips were suddenly against his, parting immediately to let her tongue slip out to test him, flicking lightly against his upper lip to see if he would finally let her taste him. He answered by opening his mouth the slightest bit further, bringing his hand up to the side of her face, pushing her hair away to let his fingers rest at the back of her neck. A soft growl left him against her mouth when her tongue just barely slipped behind his top teeth, gracing the top of his mouth slightly.

Somewhere in the past minute, Joker's heart had gone from perfectly slow and steady to banging hard against his ribcage and with Jayde's hand rested on his chest, he was completely positive she could feel it. He pulled away after a few moments, taking a quick breath in to try and clear his head of the fuzziness but Jayde only took this as her invitation to move closer to his side, half laying on top of him, half next to him. It was becoming painfully obvious to both of them that Joker's control over himself was starting to flicker like a candle's flame near a breeze and he wondered vaguely how much longer he could stand this before mother nature kicked in.

His answer came shortly after when he took a deep breath in to tilt his head back to try and fight it off and Jayde leaned down, nudging the curve of his neck with her nose. A second later, her warm tongue snuck out to lightly trace that secret weak spot of his, before her lips kissed the moist skin there gently. A groan escaped Joker as he panted slightly, tightening his grip on the back of her hair. His knees came up in a last ditch effort to fight off that impending erection but now Jayde had taken it upon herself to start sucking gently on the curve of his neck, clearly enjoying the effect she was having on him as he practically squirmed.

Jayde released his red and moistened flesh from between her teeth, grinning against his neck as she breathed down it, catching her breath. There was no telling what had come over her this time but she was not even _thinking _of trying to figure it out at the moment. Her hand slid up his chest a bit to his opposite shoulder, gliding down his arm, a little surprised to find him absolutely covered in goosebumps. Joker had just opened his eyes when she opened her mouth to say something softly to him, however, a second later, the hand that was still entwined in the back of her hair pulled her closer, the thumb from his other hand reaching her face just in time to part her bottom lip further from the top one. A sigh immediately escaped her against him but before she could fully respond, her sigh reverted to a gasp when Joker suddenly moved to the side, rolling her onto her back to now leave him leaning over her, parked directly between her thighs. He had pulled away in the middle of his rather swift movement and was now settling onto his forearms on either side of her ribcage, gently easing some of his weight onto her.

Jayde sighed contentedly in response, bringing her knees up instinctually to grip his hips on either side. When Joker's nose nudged her chin, she understood that to be a rather polite request to tilt her head back and she whimpered softly when he kissed her neck, parting his lips to lavish attention there. Joker's hips gave a gentle rock in response to her noises, awakening Jayde to the fact that her underwear was positively soaked clear through and she could now feel it dripping down along the cheeks of her ass.

It seemed that Joker was still a little hesitant to take things too far although Jayde was positive that once they had reached this point, there was no stopping. Her pussy kept clenching automatically every now and again and she could plainly feel Joker pressing against her where their bodies met but yet both of them still had clothes on. So in an effort to show him without breaking the silence, she arched her back, reaching down to pull her tank top off, thankful for the purple sheet still covering them as the cool air from the fan blew over her, covering her in goosebumps.

The tank top slid off of her arm onto the carpet beside the bed but Joker was already reaching up, growling in his chest as he brushed his thumb across her hardened nipple, smirking to himself when she whimpered again, arching her back. His tongue followed his thumb a second later, sliding one of his forearms under the small of her back as she arched against his chest again. As much fun as it was to tease her and feel her writhe beneath him, there was still clothing to be removed…other areas to be paid attention to.

Rising to his knees between her thighs, his fingers reached out, tucking into the lining of her pajama pants and underwear, tugging them down together as one, tossing them onto the other side of the bed. His hands reached out a second later to glide down the soft insides of her thighs, glancing up briefly to catch the look on her face as she tilted her head back, sighing. Even in the sparse light from the sliver of moon, Joker could see her entrance glistening, dripping in anticipation and he cringed slightly when he felt his dick give a hard throb. His thumb reached out a second later, gliding from the very top to the very bottom of her, back up again and back down again.

Jayde had started panting at some point, reaching out to the side for a handful of bed sheet to hold onto while he watched his finger, a little surprised to find himself a slight bit shaky with anticipation; this was most certainly _not _his first rodeo…But then again, it _had _ been so long since they had been right there together and this had happened so quickly that he found himself almost hesitant to slide two of his fingers inside of her. If he did, there was absolutely no turning back; he wondered if Jayde knew this. He was now staring down at his wet, sticky thumb stroking the extra soft, hairless skin around her _beautiful_ pussy, that she had obviously gone out of her way earlier to make that way.

From above him, Joker heard Jayde give a frustrated little whimper at his hesitation, glancing down to meet his eyes as he looked up at her. However, something in her gaze told him all he needed to know so abandoning uncertainty, he pushed his middle and pointer finger inside her, relishing in the delicious moan that left her shortly after. She clenched around him, breathing heavily as he moved them in and out of her, watching his fingers appear then disappear, over and over until she finally reached down, wrapping her fingers around his wrist to make him stop.

Joker seemed to understand what she meant as he moved back up to lean over her and catch her lips, his back bent slightly as his clean hand touched the side of her face. Her hands slid down his chest and stomach, following the contours to those perfect cuts over his hipbones then down to the line of his favorite gray, cotton pajama pants where her fingers slid behind the material eagerly. Joker's hips gave a small encouraging buck in response, so she pulled them down slowly until he let out a breath against her cheek as if he had been holding it.

Bravely, Jayde reached out, wrapping her hand firmly around him, unsurprised to find that the tips of her fingernails could just _barely _touch around the width of him. Joker groaned deeply from his chest, a primal-sounding moan that sent shivers up and down Jayde's spine as she moved her fingers up and down the length of him gently yet firmly.

Before long, Joker had also grown impatient in the teasing and was now reaching down to wrap his fingers around her wrist, pulling her hand up with his until it he could rest his forearms on either side of her shoulders. His eyes were shiny and dilated as Jayde looked up at him, watching him watch her for any signs of protest. She could feel him just inches from her entrance, waiting it seemed for some sort of permission. When Jayde sighed impatiently, tilting her head back, Joker watched her before shaking his head as he had to remind himself to keep it somewhat nice for now; he did _not_ want her regretting this in the morning.

"Are you sure?" he asked, suddenly bringing to light the fact that, until then, neither had spoken since Jayde entered the root. His voice was deep and husky against her, and she whimpered again, bringing her hands up to twist into his hair, only to find that he still had it tied back in that messy bun of his. Hastily, Jayde nodded, opening her eyes to look deep into his, hoping to god he wouldn't close them once he started to push into her.

He rocked his hips forward a moment later, forcing himself to keep eye contact with her, loving the way her eyes widened slightly before she cringed, glancing down between their bodies as it started to sting slightly. It had been over a month after all and…the Joker was _really _hard this time. He slowed down as much as he could only to bring his knees up a bit to give him space to start rocking into her, slowly, gently, pulling whimpers from her every few moments.

His hands now supported him on either side of her shoulders although Jayde was awfully reluctant to let him go and pulled him back down to catch his lips deeply as his pace quickened only slightly. Her muscles clenched all around him in rhythm with his thrusts, urging him on, arousing a low growl from him as he pulled away from her mouth, sinking back to his forearms again. It seemed Jayde was searching for something to fist in her hands so after locating the small piece of elastic holding his hair back, she tugged hard on it, releasing his messy, wavy hair to fall in his face. Joker shook his head slightly to move it from his eyes, only to groan when she twisted her fingers up into it, tightening her grip to tilt his head back slightly. The curve of his nose and forehead pressed into the curve of her neck, panting a few times when her nails dug into his back, raking along his skin deeply, leaving bright red lines down the length of it. She was writhing underneath him, gripping his hips with her knees as he continued, hoping wildly she would understand if he didn't last all night like he wanted to. It had been a rather lengthy break from being physical with her and she was feeling even tighter and wetter than he could remember before.

The scratching she was doing to his back did not help much in his effort to fight off his release and it seemed that Jayde was growing pretty close herself as he sat up to his knees again, pressing the palms of his hands against her thighs, pushing them a bit closer to her shoulder to give him more room to swing his hips and press his thumb to her clit. Her back arched at the contact, gasping out his name as he thrust the hardest he had yet, deciding that if _he_ had to cum, then so did she. He had started panting at some point, growling slightly as he watched her expressions. Her tongue slipped out to lick her lips before she bit down on her bottom one in an effort to keep from crying out when she finally released although Joker was leaning over her again, using his thumb to part her lips to kiss her hastily, before he too let out a loud groan.

This diversion helped slightly in that he did not downright moan, but the staggered, growling breath that escaped him was nothing short of unstoppable when he thrust his hips several last times, releasing into her, forcing another soft whimper from Jayde at the sensation. With both of them slightly breathless, Joker remained in place at first, opening his eyes to look down at her when she sighed, reaching up to move some of her hair away from her face. When she finally made eye contact with him, he laughed with a soft breath, grinning.

"Hi." He put simply, only because this was all he could think of saying to her at the moment. All the awkwardness and the not knowing how to act around each other seemed to have left the room and their bodies like some sort of negative energy. Jayde was now grinning up at him, giggling quietly and it almost felt as though nothing had ever happened between them, almost like meeting her for the first time.

"Hi." She replied after a few moments but moved to the side a second later, reaching out for her discarded pajama pants to put those on when Joker moved to lay down, tugging his own pants back up to their original place low on his hips. He groaned in content when Jayde lay down on her back against him as he did the same, moving his arm so she could rest the back of her head on his shoulder. The tips of his fingers came to rest on her arm and a deep sleepy breath moved Jayde slightly as his chest rose and fell.

Her whole body was still tingling slightly but as a huge wave of drowsiness slipped over her from the light patterns his fingers were tracing on her far shoulder, she grinned to herself. Her plan from before had failed miserably, but at least she could finally slip off to sleep with no further problems. She turned onto her side facing him a moment later, opening her eyes one last time to look up at him as he drifted off quickly and her hand came to rest lightly on his chest.

"Please be here when I wake up." She asked quietly, watching his face. The very top of his scar twitched when he smirked to himself although his eyes remained closed.

"I'm not goin' anywhere," he answered, his voice already deep and laced with sleepiness. Feeling satisfied in his response, Jayde finally lay her head down, closing her eyes to immediately drift off.

A/N: I told you guys you wouldn't have to wait long! And I figured an event as monumental as Jayde and Joker _finally_ making up was worthy of having its' own chapter pretty much. So I hope you enjoyed and the next chapter should be out within a few days. Thanks for stayin' tuned kiddies. Hope this chapter wasn't too Mature for ya… = ] –QoM LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	19. The Book of Revelation

Before Jayde had even opened her eyes, a sleepy smirk pulled at her cheeks when she noticed a dull, pleasurable ache resonating in the lower half of her body. It seemed that instantly, upon waking, she felt that a huge amount of pressure and anxiety had been released from her body and mind, leaving her feeling rather giddy and somewhat excited. A moment later, the content smile left her face when she remembered that she had asked Joker to make sure he was there when she woke up, but upon listening, she could not hear his gentle, growling breathing from behind her. _Perfect, _she thought sarcastically with a sigh, turning onto her back to flip onto her other side and face the emptiness and she nearly jumped when her eyes fell onto the Joker, just beside her.

He was laying on his side, one of his arms up under his pillow with his eyes wide open and awake as if he had been waiting anxiously for her to turn over to face him. Jayde relaxed into the bed again as she smiled at him, burying half of her face into the soft pillow to blink at him shyly once or twice. His eyebrows had been furrowed slightly, as he had clearly been scowling at the back of her head while she slept, but they relaxed gradually until he smirked back at her, watching her face for any sign of discomfort or possibly regret.

However, Jayde was smiling at him now, showing no signs of anything negative and as Joker admired this, he noticed how long it had been since she had grinned at him like she was now. He cleared his throat a second later, lowering his head slightly yet still maintaining eye contact with her, wondering wildly who would speak first.

Seconds built upon moments and Joker was beginning to notice that it seemed Jayde was also waiting for him to break the silence. He ended the game by growling, "Good morning."

Across from him, Jayde shivered at the sound of his voice, scooting further into his purple sheets to play it off as being cold; she had forgotten how much she loved the way he sounded first thing in the morning. Her hands brought the sheets up to her chin where she hid her mouth from the nose down in them, grinning girlishly.

"Good morning," she answered. "Did you sleep well?" she then asked from behind the blankets. Joker's eyes rolled slowly to the black canopy overhead where they squinted slightly as if trying to recall a memory.

"Hm…Well, I had this really weird dream that _someone_ snuck into my room in the middle of the night and…_molested _ me…" he rasped, returning his gaze to Jayde's to smirk while she gasped, finally reaching out a hand from under the sheets to slap him lightly on his bare shoulder, scooting closer ever so slightly, hoping he wouldn't notice her lame attempt at snuggling with him.

"I did _not _molest you." She defended, frowning slightly when he laughed, reaching out to tuck a wild piece of her curls behind her ear. "As far as I remember, you were wide awake and perfectly…aware."

Across from her, Joker rolled onto his stomach, honestly hoping that she would pick up his cue and start scratching his back. But instead, she moved a little bit closer, resting her cheek against his folded elbow, watching his one, exposed brown eye for several long moments, wishing beyond anything she could read his mind and find out what he was thinking. When he did nothing but simply watch her watching him, Jayde looked away from his eye to her fingers as they slid into his green, fuzzy mass of morning hair, lightly raking against his scalp. She glanced down when she noticed him close his eyes, smirking to herself when he shivered slightly. A second later, his eyes opened again and the brown color there locked onto her blue ones.

"Do you regret coming in here?" he asked abruptly, the eyebrow above his one exposed eye arching slightly.

That whole morning, since waking up nearly an hour before Jayde had, Joker had lay there, watching her rising and falling side across from him, wondering how on earth to ask her this without flat-out exposing his uncertainty by saying the exact words. But the longer he had lay there, the more certain he became that there was literally no other way to bring it up and not look like an idiot than just straight-up asking her and forgetting his pride for a few milliseconds.

Luckily, Jayde did exactly what Joker had expected and leaned forward, pressing her lips to the top of his left scar, pursing lightly to leave a soft kiss before she pulled back, staring hard at his eye to make sure he heard her clearly.

"No." she answered simply, knowing that going on and saying a whole bunch of other things would probably only irritate him and that this was the only answer he had needed. Beside her, Joker hummed in his throat, rolling over slightly as his hand reached out, sneaking underneath her hair to the back of her neck. He pulled her closer, letting his gaze drop until it settled on her bottom lip, eyeing it.

"That's good to know."

Jayde sighed against his lips as he kissed her gently, pulling her closer as he turned onto his back, sliding his hand from the back of her neck to the side of her face. Her body fell onto his slightly as she lay practically draped across him, gripping his far, upper arm with her fingers as she kissed him deeply, freely letting her tongue explore the scar on his bottom lip. It was so deep and yet…_sexy _and Jayde was just letting her thumb lightly stroke the incredibly soft skin on the inside of his arm when Joker grunted, pulling away.

"Oh, shit. What time is it?" he asked as if Jayde knew but did not give her time to answer sarcastically before he turned to his nightstand, grabbing his abandoned watch from the ledge. She watched his face for the half a second it took him to read the time and he moved suddenly to the side, throwing back his purple sheets to sit up on the edge.

"What time-" she went to ask but stopped when Joker cut her off, standing up from the bed.

"Almost eleven." He answered quickly, turning to crack his back once. "I'm sure Tre and Dotcom are simply _lost _without my direction, so I gotta go see what's going on."

Jayde let out a disappointed sigh, leaning back into his pillows to smirk up at him as he turned to frown down at her. From where she was watching, it seemed as though Joker were almost torn, between laying there in bed, shmoozing with her for a while longer or going down to command his 'troops'. A second later, it seemed as though the latter suggestion prevailed and he moved to walk to the door but Jayde could not help herself and called out after him.

"Joker," she cooed his name, watching from the bed with a smirk as he stopped half-way to the door, mid-stride to turn slowly with his shoulders somewhat hunched. His eyebrows raised slowly.

"_Yes?" _

Jayde's former smirk expanded slightly into a grin as she brought up one finger, beckoning him to come back to the bed. She giggled slightly when Joker groaned, closing his eyes to tilt his head back and hunch his shoulders further.

"Jayde, I gotta-…" he started to argue but groaned again, louder, when she shook her head.

"Come here, _please._"

Finally, Joker stomped over like an impatient child, crawling up the length of the bed until his hands and knees parked on either side of her, looming over her to get in her face slightly, their noses inches apart. Jayde did not recoil but instead smiled placidly up at him, currently loving the way she was stalling him.

"_What _is it, Jayde?" he asked shortly, his gaze bouncing back and forth between her eyes as her hands hooked gently around his wrists on either side of her waist. Finally, she leaned up, propping herself behind her back with her elbows, pressing her lips to his briefly before she pulled away only a little, leaving her lips to brush against his.

"Will you bring me some water?" she whispered against his slightly open mouth, giggling when he growled, hopping off of the bed without another word before he walked to the door to close it behind him.

As much as Joker would have liked to truly be irritated that Jayde had stalled him purposely like that, the stupid fucking smirk that tugged up at his scars was making it rather hard to follow through with the emotion. Instead, he found himself walking briskly along the hallway, exhaling happily as he glanced down at Tre and Dotcom on the bottom floor.

"Gentlemen!" he greeted them, clapping his hands together once as he stepped down off of the bottom step. "What's the word?" he then asked, glancing over at Dotcom through the breakfast bar as he turned from the coffee maker, holding a mug. His eyebrows raised behind his glasses and Joker copied him, leaning forward, anticipating his answer.

"You tell us." He replied, obviously trying really hard not to cock his hip to the side and instead resorted to shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Joker stood up straight, frowning as he glanced at Tre on the couch, watching him from the back of it. One of Joker's hands started to raise slowly.

"_Uuhhhmmm…"_ he started, letting his eyes glance from Tre to Dotcom and back again several times until one of them explained. From the couch, his best friend cleared his throat, smirking.

"Man, it's eleven." He said, lowering his head with a raise of his notched eyebrow. "I ain' seen you sleep past ten o'clock in _years_, bruh."

From the middle of the bottom floor near the stairs, Joker laughed once, loudly, walking over toward the downstairs bathroom, shrugging his shoulders as he glanced back at Tre. His eyes then moved to Dotcom and he limped slightly with a bit of a swagger, tossing one of his hands at him.

"Alright, say I didn't get my full eight hours. What's it to ya?" he asked haughtily, laughing again as he turned into the bathroom. Since Joker had partially been expecting a rather polite-sounding but secretly sarcastic answer from Dotcom, he jumped slightly with a scowl from inside the bathroom when he gasped, clapping one of his hands over his mouth. Turning to him, Joker made a confused face, shaking his head. "What the _fuck _is your deal, mate?"

Dotcom's eyes were wide as he glanced over at Tre and yet somewhere, mixed into the totally shocked look on his face, Joker detected a bit of a laugh coming on. "Uh…Have you looked in the mirror yet?" he asked, almost wincing slightly as if the urge to laugh was really taking it's toll now. Joker leaned out of the bathroom a bit to look over at Tre, only to find he was walking over as well, grinning, obviously very amused by this.

"Uh, _no…?_" he answered in a half-question, but backed into the bathroom, grumbling irritably at this when Dotcom took it upon himself to step into the room with him and turn him around so he faced away from the mirror. "Seriously, what the-…" Joker was now asking, but paused when Tre and Dotcom both started laughing. "Hey!" Joker finally barked, turning his head as far as he could to see what they were laughing at but the moment he did, _he _even gasped.

All down the lower half of his bare back ran bright red scratch marks, seemingly tattooed onto his skin from Jayde's apparently extra sharp finger nails and Joker winced, hissing slightly as Dotcom reached out, pressing his fingers to one of them as if checking to see if they were bleeding.

"_Damn_, bro." Tre was saying, his voice laced with something that almost sounded light admiration. "Looks like you got fuckin' mauled by a tiger." Dotcom let out a snort while Joker laughed finally as well, turning to face the mirror to tie his unruly hair back.

"Well, there _was_ a pussy in my bed last night, Tre." He answered, glancing at him in the mirror before both burst out laughing while Dotcom formed a look of slight disgust. A second later, Dotcom, the observant one, gasped again, this time pointing at the side of Joker's neck. He groaned loudly, turning to the mirror again as more laughter filled the bathroom and his eyes widened when they fell onto the quarter-sized dark brown-red hickey at the base of his neck. "FUCK!" he barked at his reflection, bringing both of his hands up to cover it as he turned to Dotcom and Tre, his eyebrows arched a bit in a confused, _almost _ embarrassed sort of way. His mouth opened to stammer something awkward at them but Dotcom cut over him, shaking his head slowly as he rolled his eyes.

"I'll put a spoon in the freezer for you." He said, turning to leave the bathroom, scooting past Tre, who stayed to lean against the cabinet and watch his best friend poke at the hickey on his neck, scowling at it. He too shook his head when Joker glanced over, exposing a few of his top teeth as that scowl faded into a small smirk.

"Shut up…" he growled, even though Tre had not said anything.

Once Joker had emerged from the bathroom, Dotcom had gone outside to smoke so he walked over to the table where Tre sat, sliding into a chair across from him. Their eyes met for a half of a second before Joker looked away, avoiding that best friend eye contact situation once more by reaching over his opposite shoulder to scratch an itch. Tre brought his arms up to rest, folded on the table in front of him, squinting at Kieron as he read him.

"So she just…" he started for him, leaning forward slightly as Joker looked over with his eyebrows raised.

"-Just came into my room last night." he immediately picked up in a quiet voice, glancing out onto the patio on the other side of the sliding door as if he expected to see Dotcom standing there with his ear to the glass. Tre chuckled, shaking his head.

"And you just couldn't help yourself. You were defenseless…maybe even asleep, bro. I've heard about stuff like that, _sleep-fuckin'…" _Tre offered sarcastically, arching an eyebrow as Joker shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Tre, shut up. I tried to stop." He defended himself, slouching slightly to fold his forearms over his stomach as his eyes drifted off along the edge of the table. When no answer came from Tre, Joker looked back up only to scoff with a frown at the highly disbelieving way he was staring at him. "I _swear_! _She…_kept things going when I tried to stop…It's not like she sleep-walked into my room, she knew exactly what she was doing…" It seemed that Joker had finished defending himself and was now simply verbally explaining things to himself as they revealed themselves in his brain now that he wasn't half-asleep. A second later, Tre frowned when Joker suddenly slapped his hands down on the table loudly, nodding once with finality. "And I _liked _it."

Several minutes later, after Dotcom had come back inside from his cigarette, Joker stood from the table when he called his name from the kitchen, motioning with his head toward the freezer.

"If you put this on there now, you might be able to get it to go away a little." He explained, reaching into the freezer to pull out a very cold, frosty metal spoon, holding it out to Joker, who wrinkled his nose.

"Seriously?" he asked, reaching out slowly to take it from him when Dotcom nodded fervently.

"Yes, it works. Trust me."

For several moments, Joker stared down at Dotcom with that one eyebrow arched as if highly skeptical of this form of hickey treatment, but he really had no other idea on how to make it go away. So once Dotcom walked away, he slowly pressed the back of the frozen spoon to his neck, only to hiss a second later, pulling it away quickly when it 'burned' his skin; Dotcom made a tutting noise over by the sink.

Finally, after pressing the spoon to the side of his neck, only to wince and pull it away several times, it was warm enough to hold there and Joker was just in the process of leaning against the counter next to the fridge when far-off, he heard his bedroom door open, then shut upstairs. His eyes immediately shifted to Tre's at the table and his scars stretched in a smirk when his best friend rolled his eyes. However, just when Joker imagined Jayde to emerge on the top landing, looking cute and disheveled in her pajamas from the previous night, she instead came striding down the hallway, wearing a shirt…and not much else. His smirk vanished in record timing.

The bottom of his blue, hexagon patterned, long sleeved 'business' shirt flapped lightly around her thighs as she stepped lightly down the stairs toward them, fluttering tantalizingly close to the area where Joker was not sure if she was wearing underwear yet or not. Over at the table, he noticed Tre glance up for a second, obviously only to look her up and down once before he lowered his head to the magazine he was reading. Joker could practically _hear_ him thinking what a lucky son of a bitch his best buddy was.

Hastily, Joker threw the now body temperature spoon into the sink on the other side of the kitchen, causing Dotcom to jump when it clanked loudly. Joker ignored this, now too busy smirking at Jayde as she pushed the much too long sleeves of his shirt up to her elbows, swinging her hips a bit further than usual when she locked eyes with him. Joker's head lowered slightly as his arms folded over his chest as she approached him but just when he was about to say something to her, as it seemed like she was going to walk up to him, she changed directions and walked over to the coffee maker to pull a mug down from the cabinet.

At first, Joker was a little distracted by the way the bottom of his shirt rose _almost_ high enough to see the cheeks of her ass as she rose onto her tip toes, but a second later, he had slid down along the counter towards her. He noticed her smirk expand slightly when he placed one of his hands on the left side of her, bracing himself on the counter, while his other hand rested on the counter to the right of her. Leaning down, he rested his chin on her shoulder from behind, peering down at her mug of coffee as she dumped a spoonful of sugar into it.

"Might I ask what you're _doing?…"_ he asked quietly enough so only she could hear him, turning his head slightly to press his nose against the curve of her neck. Jayde's smirk remained firmly in place and her eyes continued to watch the movement of her spoon as she stirred the steaming coffee. It was perfectly obvious he was asking that in relation to _his _shirt she was wearing although Jayde ignored the suggestion in his question.

"I'm making a cup of coffee and getting my water that you never brought up for me," she started, turning her head slightly to look up at him as his brown eyes darted between her blue ones. "_Then, _I'm going back upstairs to watch tv in _your _bed." She finally grinned when Joker laughed, raising his eyebrows.

"Are ya now?" he asked loudly, reaching out to take Jayde's mug from her, only to bend down, wrap his arm around her middle and hoist her over his shoulder, ignoring the squeal of a giggle she let off and the look from Dotcom across the kitchen.

When Jayde realized that Joker was carrying her toward the stairs, she squealed, smacking her hand against his bare back, glancing at Tre through the thick curtain of hair in her face as they passed the table. "Hey!" she cried. "I didn't get my water!" Joker ignored her, laughing loudly as he tossed his head, making his way up the stairs, while trying not to spill the hot coffee on his hand, and yet trying not to drop Jayde at the same time.

After making it to his room, Joker closed the door behind him with his foot, marching over to the bed to sit on the edge and bring her down from his shoulder until her knees rested on either side of him, straddling his lap. His hands settled on the curve of her waist, watching her face as she tossed her hair back with a slight huff. He grinned when she finally looked down at him.

"You know, I really did want some water…" she complained, bringing her arms up to rest on his shoulders, shivering slightly when he looked down to watch the path of his hands sliding over her hips to her thighs. He shrugged, bringing his eyes back up to meet hers.

"Yeah, and _I_ really wanted to find out what you've got on under _my _shirt…" he growled in return, watching Jayde's face when she felt him move his hands back up the outside of her thighs, sliding his shirt up with them. His fingers faltered at the line of her white, lacy, boy-cut underwear that he had failed to notice the night before. "Hmm…" he hummed, cocking his head to the side as one of his fingers moved to trace the lining of the garment over her hipbone. "The only way these could look better on you would be if they were about halfway down…"

Jayde exhaled slowly when Joker's hands pulled her hips closer to him until they met his waist and she could not help but rock into him slightly when his pointer fingers slipped into the back of her underwear. The small of her back arched as the lacy material began to slide down her ass and her lips had just met against Joker's when he grunted, pulling away.

"Oh, yeah. Look at the present you left me with this morning." He said, tilting his head back and to the side to show off the _wonderful_ hickey on his neck. Jayde gasped with a laugh, immediately bringing up one of her fingers to touch it lightly.

"Oh, wow…" she murmured, meeting his glare as he brought his head back down, glancing between his eyes, trying to detect whether or not he was about to tell her off. A second later, she tilted her head to the side slightly, batting her eyelashes at him. "I'm sorry, Mister Joker." She practically purred, grinning when Joker's eyes began to squint. He growled a moment later, reaching his arm around her hip to slide his finger between her thighs from behind, lightly tracing along her most private area. Jayde let out a soft gasp when her hips bucked slightly. Joker grunted a laugh, watching her half-lidded eyes.

"That just means I get to leave one on _you_…where ever I want." He growled against her neck, preparing to part his lips for revenge, although not even a second later, a knock from his bedroom door caused both of them to jump. Joker's eyes met Jayde's before he groaned, closing them to tilt his head back irritably.

"WHAT?" he shouted, forcing another jump from Jayde as his voice echoed slightly. There was a hesitation before Tre's muffled voice came through the wood on the other side of the room.

"Yo, that dude is here. Wants to know what we're doing with the cruiser."

Joker's eyes opened quickly to meet Jayde's, absolutely shocked and rather disgusted with himself for letting her distract him so thoroughly that he had forgotten all about the little 'meeting' he was hosting at noon that day. But then again…Jayde's tiny underwear was halfway to her thighs and his finger was already kind of wet from stroking her…He touched her one more time but Tre's voice called out again.

"Ki,"

Finally, Joker shook his head roughly, forcing it to clear of fuzziness. "Alright, yeah." He called back, standing Jayde up from his lap before he too stood up, moving past her toward his bathroom. "Tell him I'll be out in a few minutes. For now, start stripping the radios out of Mitchell's car." He instructed, glancing at Jayde as she took a seat on the edge of his bed, reaching out for his tv remote to turn it on, folding her arms over her stomach. He wondered vaguely if she was feeling a bit dejected but there was no time for him to care right then.

So after brushing his teeth and dressing, Joker walked over to the edge of the bed where Jayde still sat, mindlessly watching the news. She looked up when he leaned down into her line of vision, peering at her eyes at a sharp angle. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"I have to go downstairs," he stated, honestly feeling a little relieved when Jayde smiled placidly up at him.

"I know," she answered, nodding her head. "I'm gonna go get a shower then I'll be down too." Her lips tightened in a grin when Joker leaned forward to kiss her lightly once before he stood back up.

"Alright."

Once Joker had gone and Jayde had replaced his shirt with the one she had worn in there the night before, she found herself in her bedroom, removing all of it again to step into the shower, shivering as the hot water splattered against her back. It had come as a bit of a surprise to her when Joker had explained that he had to go downstairs, almost as if he had been trying to apologize for leaving without actually saying the words. He had done this a few times back when they had first…'met' and it was somewhat refreshing for him to be a little more considerate around her again…for the time being. There was no telling how long his 'nice' streak would last, but one thing was certain- Jayde was going to take advantage of it to the fullest while she could.

After showering, dressing, doing her hair, applying a little bit of mascara and eye-liner, Jayde was finally stepping out onto the landing, glancing down as she walked to the stairs. The house seemed empty and strangely quiet as she trotted down, frowning slightly when she wondered where everyone had gone. Walking toward the kitchen, the sight of the tall, stainless steel refrigerator caught her eye and she suddenly remembered the water she had been wanting all morning. She had just opened the door to the freezer for a few cubes of ice when the lower notes in a man's voice came muffled through the garage door, giving her the answer to her previous query.

After nearly finishing the entire glass at once, Jayde stepped outside into the garage without hesitation, her eyes immediately finding Joker over at the far side, leaned down inside Detective Mitchell's car while Dotcom could be seen through the windshield, frowning at something in the dash board. Tre was over at the edge of the garage, smoking a cigarette, talking to someone unseen from where she was standing. He glanced over at the sound of the garage, only to smirk at her and turn his head back around to take a drag from his cigarette. A second later, Jayde rolled her eyes; obviously, Joker had already spoken with him about what she had done the previous night. She approached him without second thought.

"Hey," she greeted him cordially, glancing over at the strange new guy for only a half of a second before turning back to Tre. Her eyes glanced at his cigarette. "Can I have one?" Tre nodded, reaching into his pocket but while he fished out a cigarette, something clicked in Jayde's brain and she turned back to the new guy, her eyebrows furrowed as she took in his set of _strangely _familiar green eyes, beneath a short, choppy blonde hair style. "You look…really familiar…" she commented rather awkwardly, glancing at Tre as if hoping he would remind her where she had seen this person before. It was an odd feeling, knowing that she literally had no friends in Gotham and it seemed _really _unlikely that this was someone from Montana that she had met years ago. The new guy grinned, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I'm Kelly." He answered, clearly thinking that this would jog Jayde's memory. However, she continued to stare at him, squinting slightly. Her head shook slowly from left to right.

"Um…I'm sorry, where…?" she stammered, but jumped when an arm draped around her shoulders heavily, forcing her weight from one leg to the other.

"Oh, c'mon, Jayde…" Joker rasped from beside her, motioning at Kelly with one hand. "Don't you remember?…Club Skye?"

Finally, Jayde gasped. "Oh yeah!" she cried, laughing as Joker rolled his eyes and Kelly grinned. "Wait…" she then said once her laughter had died down and things were starting to click. "Wait, you had me followed that night?" she asked first of Joker but then turned to Kelly. "Did he have you follow me?"

Kelly was stammering wordlessly, looking from Jayde to Joker and back again before luckily, the Joker stepped in, grinning proudly.

"Yes, I had Misss-ter Kelly follow you." He explained as simply as he could, grinning down at her when she frowned up at him, placing her hands on her hips in that characteristic sort of way.

"Do you not trust me?" she asked, glancing back and forth between his eyes several times as he shrugged, pulling her away from Kelly and Tre to lead her over toward the police cruiser.

"No, I trust you." He answered lightly. "I just don't trust anyone else." He then added darkly.

Over the next several hours, once Joker had explained that he would like for Jayde to do a thorough cleaning of the detectives car, she put her 'training' to good use and worked incredibly hard at making the car absolutely spotless…since impressing Joker was back on her 'to-do' list of sorts. Although Jayde wasn't paying that much attention, it was obvious that Joker had definitely arranged plans for later in the day as he kept saying one or two lines pertaining to 'when we leave' or 'when we get back' or 'once we're there'. Normally, she would have strained to find out what they were doing and if she was going to be included but she was getting the feeling that Joker would let her know what was up in only a matter of time.

Sure enough, after nearly two hours, Jayde was finished with the Crown Victoria police cruiser and was just climbing out to shut the door behind her when Joker emerged from the house, standing in the way of the garage door, smirking at her, wrinkling lines into his previously perfectly applied greasepaint makeup.

"It's about time," he growled, opening the door wider for her to walk through as she wiped a bit of sweat from her hair line. Jayde had turned and was about to comment when she noticed his attire change into his purple pinstripe pants, green vest and blue pattered shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his forearms. "Go get changed and meet me back down here. We're leaving in twenty." He instructed, nodding his head toward the stairs with finality when Jayde opened her mouth to ask a question. Instead, she shut it again, turning her back to him to obey his command.

Within minutes, Jayde had returned and Joker was just stepping back inside from the garage, followed shortly by Dotcom, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose as she walked over. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked back and forth between them a few times.

"Where did Tre and Kelly go?" she asked but frowned further when Joker leaned down quickly to be at her eye level.

"_Where did Tre and Kelly go?" _he mocked her, rocking his head from side to side a few times, only to grin when he noticed all the muscles in her face relax into an incredibly annoyed expression.

"That's really cute…" she mumbled sarcastically, glaring at him as he stood back up, laughing as he placed his hand on the small of her back to lead her through the open door and out into the garage.

At first, Jayde had walked over to the back, right door of the Escalade, waiting for either Dotcom to unlock the door or for Joker to open it for her, but instead, he walked over, chuckling quietly as he pulled her away from it toward the edge of the garage.

"No, no, dear. Out here." He explained, grinning down at her as she looked back up at him, frowning slightly.

"But I thought you said we were-…" she had started to say, but stopped dead when she noticed a long, sleek black limousine waiting patiently in the driveway. Beside her, Jayde could feel Joker grinning widely, pulling her closer to the back doors of the long black car.

"I did, I _did…_" he answered, reaching out to open the door for her, climbing in after her as she sat in the far seat, her eyes somewhat wide as she took in the sleek, leather interior. "But instead of our usual means, I figured it would be more fun to ride in this!" he exclaimed, turning slightly to shrug his shoulders at Jayde, who was now staring at him, eyebrow arched.

"Why a limo?" she then asked, watching when Joker rolled his eyes, just as the limousine began to move forward.

"Be-_cause_, we're important people, Jayde." He answered, turning his head to glance out of the heavily tinted window. "Besides, who's gonna think to look for the _Joker_ in a stretch limo?" he shrugged again before his arm raised to rest along the long back seat next to him. "It's genius…_and _ comfortable."

After a short drive into the city and after the long black limousine had weaved its way into the very heart of the bustling center, Joker pulled a tiny radio from the inside pocket of his vest, pushing his thumb against the black button to speak into it.

"Susan, is everything in order?" he growled, glancing out of the window as tall office buildings began to pass by them. There was a pause from the other end of the radio before a voice finally came through.

"It's _Kelly_, boss…"

Joker tsk-ed with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, _that's _right. It was some _other_ girl's name…" he glanced at Jayde as she grinned. "Where are you?"

"At the top of MCU with our lady…Ready whenever you are."

Across from her in the back seat of the limousine, Jayde could practically feel him vibrating with excitement, such that she had only seen in him once or twice when he was really up to no good. He cracked his left hands knuckles against his knee, grinning as he glanced out of the window again.

"We're about to be pulling up to the light at forty-third. Wait for my signal." Joker paused, apparently assuming that he was done giving instructions although a moment later, he brought the talkie back up to his face. "You in place, brother?" he then asked, turning in the seat to peer through the heavily tinted back window. Seconds later, Tre's deep voice came through the other end.

"I just dropped the decoy off, about to head into this restaurant. I'm meeting you on the south side right?"

"Yes. Wait for my word."

Within moments, the limousine had pulled up to a stop light, one that Jayde recognized immediately as the place where she had considered throwing herself from Detective Mitchell's police cruiser the day Joker had been arrested. She had been on her way to her apartment and had felt as though there really was nothing left for her anymore. The thought of ending her own life scared her senseless but if she could not be around her 'best friend' and her new 'family', she could remember not wanting to live anymore, rather than return to 'normal' life. She had clearly reasoned herself out of it. In the present, at the sound of Joker's voice from next to her, she blinked, smiling to herself when she realized how much more happy she was now, to be a part of something, whether illegal or not.

"Alright, Jayde, you ready for this? C'mere." Joker reached out, draping his arm around her shoulders casually as she slid across the leather seat toward him, until she was up against his side. His free hand brought the walkie talkie up to speak into it again. "Alright, Catherine, release our lady." He instructed.

"Releasing in three…two…" Kelly sounded as though he were moving something heavy. "…one."

Joker's finger had pointed against the tinted window at the tall, newly constructed, Major Crimes Unit building across the street from them and only a second later, Jayde gasped when Detective Mitchell's lifeless corpse dropped from the top of the building, only to be caught half-way to the ground by a thick noose around her neck. Her body dangled and swung slightly as screams erupted from the streets around them although it was rather hard to hear from the way Joker had started cackling with laughter from beside her. He leaned forward toward the window as if trying to catch the looks on the Gothamites faces while they watched their 'hero' swinging lifelessly from the building, hoping to feed off of the instant chaos he had just initiated. His loud laughter seemed to fill the long interior of the limousine, his nose leaving a white streak of makeup on the window from the way he had it pressed against the glass.

As a crowd gathered around the base of the MCU, police officers and detectives began to file out of the building, everyone looking up and at the dead detective, not even noticing the stretch limo across the street that held Gotham's most wanted. Jayde was just admiring the obliviousness of the city's inhabitants when Joker reached down to the walkie talkie, twisting the dial on the top of the device to change the channel. A second later, his own raspy, clowny voice came through, in some sort of recording.

"A reading, dear Gotham, from the book of Revelation, chapter eighteen! _Ahem_…"

Jayde glanced up at Joker with a grin and a roll of her eyes at his antics. Of course, she found it rather funny and awfully demeaning of him but it was obvious people outside found the loud sound of his voice completely terrifying. People were looking every which way for the source of the voice, although it seemed to Jayde to be coming from the dead detective's mouth, from the large cuts on either side of her lips. Gothamites and police officers looked to one another, horrified, as if checking to make sure everyone else was hearing the Joker's voice as well.

"After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with her glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit."

"Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her _plagues_! For her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I SIT AS A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.' _**For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong."**_

By the time the recording had seemingly finished, the recorded Joker's voice had grown loud and deep, convicting and rather terrifying and Jayde could not help but rub her arms to try and rid herself of the goosebumps that had risen there. Beside her, Joker had finished laughing and had just pulled a blinking device from his pocket, only to hold it out in front of her. He glanced down to meet her eyes before he nodded at the detonator.

"Push it."

"W-what? What are you blowing up?"

"Push it _now _or I will." he growled, shaking the device at her until Jayde took it from him and pressed down on the blue button, bracing for some rattling, loud explosion. At first, nothing happened, but mere seconds later, a car, sitting nearly twenty yards behind them exploded with such force, Jayde could feel the shock wave vibrate the limo. People everywhere, the huge crowd on the street scattered like ants, screaming and crying as they ducked for cover, apparently unsure if they were under attack, in fear of another explosion closer to them. Joker burst into loud cackles again, watching the scene slide by them as they pulled through the now yellow light, slowly making their getaway through the haze of blind panic Joker had just created with a simple push of a button…Then again, Jayde had pushed the button…that made _her _the agent of chaos on this day.

Beside her, Joker seemed to be absolutely brimming with pride and excitement.

"Excellent job, Jayde. You really pushed that button, girl." He praised her somewhat sarcastically, arching an eyebrow down at her as she grinned up at him. She moved to slide down the rest of the seat but he held onto her, forcing her to stay close to his side. "Stay right here. Tre's getting in…three, two…"

Jayde jumped when the limousine door burst open and Tre got in smoothly, bringing with him the smell of dust and explosives as he looked over at his best friend.

"Man, you saw that? You saw all them people?" he asked breathlessly, his eyes wide with that same sort of manic excitement Jayde had only seen in Joker; she had no idea Tre was also an…'agent of chaos'. From the way her heart was racing, did that mean she had joined their ranks?

"Yeah, Tre. Excellent job on my part, I wont lie. Did my recording sound nice and uh…_scary_ from where you were standing?" Joker asked, looking at Tre from over the top of Jayde's head in between them. His best friend nodded, his eyebrows raising.

"Yeah, man…I didn't think it would be so loud." he answered, shaking his head with a slight shiver. "I mean…I _know_ you and I thought it was pretty scary..." he paused, glancing out of the window. "You are one creepy cat, my brother."

From beside Jayde, Joker laughed, tossing his head in foolish pride as he leaned back to cross one of his ankles over his other knee, turning his head to watch the buildings fly by. "Tre, I take that as the highest compliment I could have ever received."

A/N: Sorry about the wait guys. I was moving into a new apartment and all the really fun shit that accompanies that…Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Much more to come, faster this time, now that I have my life back in order. And guys, we're slackin on those reviews again, ya feel me? LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU REALLY REALLY WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! –QoM


	20. Book of Revelation extended ending

A/N: Alright, so here's what happened. This whole thing was supposed to happen in the last chapter. BUT. I've been trying to shorten the lengths of my chapters by about three pages (in Word) So this is supposed to be the end of the last chapter but it didn't quite make it. And I'm already three pages into the next chapter so it shouldn't be too long before I've got the (real) new one out. THIS DOES NOT MEAN I DON'T WANT YOU TO REVIEW THIS SHORT CHAPTER. LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT ONE! = ] -QoM

Once the Joker felt as though he had established enough chaos and fear to hold him over for another night, and once the limousine had carefully wound its way through the city and out onto the interstate, Dotcom rolled down the partition that had been separating the driver's and passenger's seats from the long cab of the car and now he, Joker and Tre were chatting amiably about plans for the evening.

"Well, I'll make something tonight but someone else has to clean up." He bargained, glancing in the rearview mirror at them as Tre, Joker and Jayde glanced at one another. When both of the guys ended up staring down at her with identical raised eyebrows, Jayde finally sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, I'll do the dishes." She eventually offered, turning her head to glare up at Joker as he grinned, bringing his arm from the back of the seat to rest around her shoulders.

Finally, after nearly a half hour, the limo pulled up into the gravel driveway toward the garage, but it was not until Jayde stepped out did she notice Detective Mitchell's navy blue police cruiser, parked in the grass off to the back side of the house. She paused over at the edge of the pavement, frowning at it until she felt Joker and Tre step up on either side of her. Her hands met her hips before she turned slowly to look up at the Joker, frowning when she noticed him grinning at the car.

Without even turning to look down at her, his grin expanded. "You didn't _actually _think I would waste a perfectly good police car, did ya?" he tsk-ed, furrowing his eyebrows as he finally glanced down at her. "And I thought you _knew _me…"

As he pushed his white, painted nose in the air to march inside indignantly, Jayde smirked at Tre when they glanced at each other, following him in through the garage. Dotcom was not far behind them and immediately walked to the kitchen to wash his hands to apparently start some sort of long-cooking meal. Jayde was just sitting down at the table when he closed the fridge, turning to the rest of the room.

"Dinner wont be ready until about eight." He announced, glancing at his watch. Both Jayde and Tre jumped when Joker let his hands fall onto the table heavily with a loud, exaggerated groan as though he were really annoyed by this piece of information. Luckily, however, Dotcom was fully trained and certified when it came to detecting the Joker's sarcasm, so he ignored it, forcing himself not to roll his eyes when he turned from them.

Jayde had just turned back to the table across from Joker, just opened her mouth to speak when he suddenly stood up, sliding his chair across the marble floor loudly. Her eyebrows immediately furrowed when he stepped out from behind the table, clearing his throat as she looked up at him. One of his hands raised, held out for her to take.

"Jayde, darling, Tre and I need to have a little meeting in the office upstairs. Wont you let me walk you to your room?" he asked charmingly, winking down at her as she allowed him to stand her from the table and lead her toward the stairs. She glanced back at Tre as though she expected him to explain further for Joker and cut through all the polite shit. Of course, when Tre did not reply but simply followed, grinning, Jayde turned back to Joker, looking up at him as he led her up the stairs.

"Only if you tell me what your meeting is about." She bargained, pausing on the top step as Joker squinted, licking his bottom lip pensively.

"Recruiting." He finally answered, smirking as he turned to keep leading her up the stairs after she had groaned. "Boring stuff, Jayde, very dull. Consider this a _favor…_of sorts."

They reached her closed door and there, Jayde stopped, resting her back against it as she tilted her head to look up at Joker as he did the same down at her, smirking as his gaze bounced between her eyes a few times. His left forearm met the door next to her head as he took another step closer, leaning down slightly when she dropped her eyes from his to the loosened neckline of his blue shirt. A second later, she jumped vaguely when the back of his right hand's pointer finger came up to trace her jaw line, tilting her head up to look at him once again. Jayde sighed, smacking his hand away playfully.

"Stop it, I'm mad at you." She was clearly joking as the half grin on her face was hard to hide and kept slipping into view as Joker poked out his bottom lip, touching one finger from each hand to the black makeup under his eyes, dragging them down his cheeks to form fake, gray tear trails. She let out a reluctant giggle as he smirked; he had almost forgotten how much fun it was to make her laugh.

"Now, we both know you're not _actually_ mad at me." he began, raising his eyebrows as he brought his forearm to rest on the door next to her again. "So I'm gonna kiss you, then I'm going to go down into my office and speak with Tre." He paused, taking a deep breath as he rolled his eyes. "And _then, _I'll come back down here and let you in on what we were…chatting about. Deal?"

"Deal." Jayde answered after quickly trying unsuccessfully to find a loophole in his offer that he would not expect her to pick up on. His left scar twitched in his smirk as he leaned down, closing the distance between their lips to connect them deeply, immediately sliding his hand underneath her hair to the back of her neck. Jayde tilted her head back, leaning into him, opening her mouth ever so slightly so Joker could let the tip of his tongue just lightly grace against her top lip. Goosebumps erupted all over her forearms, forcing her to arch her back against her door slightly, and she had just reached out to let her fingers slide inside his unbuttoned green vest to hook into the straps of his suspenders over his hipbones. A second later, Joker grunted, pulling away from her lips as his hands wrapped around her elbows, taking a step back. He growled, squinting down at her as he cocked his head to the side.

"None of _that_ now, ma'am. Gotta let me work before we can play." He cooed, his eyes watching Jayde's bottom lip as she let her tongue slip out a bit to lick any remaining tastes of him from it. A moment later, he looked away, turning to walk down the hallway toward his office, leaving Jayde to smirk after him before opening her door to step inside.

The moment Jayde let her body fall comfortably into her bed, she closed her eyes, sighing contentedly when she imagined crawling into bed with the Joker later. She was _almost _one-hundred percent positive that he would make it obvious he wanted her to sleep in his room again that night and Jayde was currently the furthest from saying no that she had been in a long time. His bed had been so perfectly warm and comfortable the night before, although Jayde had been fairly confident that having him laying there next to her had a lot to do with how well she had slept.

For some reason, ever since Jayde was in her teens, she had absolutely loved the HGTV channel, the 'Home and Garden' television channel, and had just gotten excited that her favorite show had just come on when her door swung open and Joker appeared in the way rather dramatically, bracing himself against the frame. Jayde smiled from the middle of the bed, pushing herself up onto her elbows to lean on them.

"You gonna tell me now?" she asked, watching as Joker now crossed the room, climbing onto the foot of the bed to crawl up and lay down next to her, forcing her to lay back down so he could rest his head on her shoulder.

"Did I tell you I would?" he asked in return, raising his eyebrows to look up at Jayde as she sighed, glaring at the canopy over the bed, smirking to herself. The answer was obvious, as was the fact that Joker was simply stalling and being an asshole so Jayde refrained from an answer, waiting for him to go on. "Tre and I are going into the city tonight to do a little team-building…_recruiting, _if you will…" He paused, where in Jayde felt her stomach drop slightly.

"What time-…" she began to ask but Joker cut her off, nudging her neck with his nose as his chin rested on her shoulder.

"All night." he answered with finality. "I wont be back until morning, more than likely." A second later, his makeup wrinkled in his frown as Jayde sighed, closing her eyes. "Don't be sad, Jaybird. It's just for one night." he put as soothingly as he could. Her shoulders shrugged.

"I know," she answered. "I was just excited to sleep in your bed again."

There was a pause before Joker raised his head, turning onto his stomach next to her to rest his chin on her chest. "Well, you can still sleep in my bed…" he paused again, shrugging with a somewhat guilty grin as his arm draped over her side to slide his hand under her back. "I just wont be in it." Jayde laughed, closing her eyes again to tilt her head back.

"Yeah, kinda defeats the purpose…" she grumbled, only to sigh when she felt Joker's lips press lightly against the underside of her chin, leaving a soft kiss before another, just below the first.

"I'm _terribly _sorry…How _ever _will I make it up to you…" he growled sarcastically, smirking against her skin as she shivered slightly from his warm breath against her neck. A soft sigh left her rather reluctantly and after another second, her hand had reached up, sliding into the back of his hair against his scalp. At least if he was going out for the night, Tre would be with him. For some reason, the thought of him being alone out there all night made her slightly anxious…even though he was _obviously _completely capable of looking after himself.

Joker had just made it to her lips where he kissed her, bracing himself with his forearm just next to her head, but after only a few seconds, Jayde pulled away abruptly.

"Can't I go with you guys?" she asked, frowning when Joker sighed, closing his eyes as he lay his head down on his arm.

"No." he answered flatly before his eyes opened again, apparently joining Jayde in noticing how adamant and quickly he had answered. A second later, he shrugged, reaching out to let his finger start tracing patterns on her stomach. "I need you to stay here and keep my bed warm." He paused, looking up at her. "And I need you to protect Dotcom if someone breaks in." His partially concerned expression softened into a smirk when Jayde finally giggled, turning onto her side to face him. His makeup was getting all over her bed and his shirt, but obviously he didn't care and neither did Jayde for that matter.

"Alright, I'll stay here. Will you be here when I wake up?" she then asked, raising her eyebrows at him as he shrugged again, closing his eyes.

"More than likely. Depends on how cooperative our recruits are tonight."

For nearly an hour, Joker and Jayde lay in her bed upstairs, quietly watching that show she had wanted to watch on HGTV. Joker lay next to her on his side with his cheek against her shoulder, mindlessly twirling one of her curls around his middle finger on the other side of her. Jayde was just thinking to herself how peculiar it was that he would lay here and watch a show on garden and back yard renovations when her right ear started to pick up the faint sound of growling and his finger had ceased its movement. She took a slow, deep breath in before she exhaled gently, closing her eyes to enjoy a grin with herself.

A loud bang woke Jayde nearly another half hour later, and although the moment she took a breath in, the smell of Dotcom's cooking forced a growl from her stomach, she was more interested in what that tremendous bang had come from and _where_ the Joker now was. Aside from her, the bed was completely empty and almost appeared as though no one had ever even been there, if it hadn't been for the pinkish and black smudges on her comforter, pillows and the shoulder of her shirt. She sighed, rolling her eyes as she stood up from the bed to go find the probable cause of the disturbance.

Out on the balcony, Jayde stopped short, mildly unsurprised that she hadn't needed to go far or even ask to find out what had happened. Joker was laughing, Tre was shaking his head and Dotcom stood by the sink in the kitchen, hands on hips, looking _pretty _annoyed.

"Uh…" she began, walking down the stairs toward them, glancing between all three of them. "What happened?" she then asked in reference to the loud bang and the now quarter sized, fresh bullet hole in the wall between the kitchen and dining table, where she now noticed Joker's fifty caliber Desert Eagle sitting at the edge. Tre decided to answer first.

"Well, apparently, he needed to 'test-fire' just to-,"

"-To make sure it was working!" Joker cried in defense, tossing his hands as Jayde walked past them, copying Tre by shaking her head. "Plus I had to make sure Dotcom's reaction-time was still top notch…Since I'm leaving him at my house…unattended…" he now growled, glaring from Tre to Dotcom to Jayde and back again. She rolled her eyes, walking over to Dotcom by the sink to place her arm around his shoulders with her other hand on her hip.

"Dotcom stayed here for three months without your supervision. I think he can handle it." She defended him, grinning at him as he nodded in agreement once, folding his arms over his chest. "In fact, I think we'll make a really good team."

Joker rolled his eyes heavily, turning to the table to grab his newly fired gun to stow it into the pocket of his coat and only then did Jayde notice that both of them had changed their clothes and that Tre was looking really nice. His long brown dreadlocks were still pulled back in a low bundle but he had changed his attire to wear a pair of black slacks, shiny black shoes and a crisp, light blue button down Oxford shirt. A black coat that closely mimicked the one Joker was wearing was draped over the back of one of the chairs. Jayde had a feeling that Dotcom was secretly drooling all over himself, hence the way he had his back to them over by the stove now.

She was just noticing that Joker had changed from purple to black, pinstriped pants and was now wearing a white Oxford shirt and black vest when he walked over to get the keys to the Escalade from the box on the counter. He brought a wave of newly applied cologne with him, sending a vague trail of it her way and she took a deep breath and another step closer to him. Tre had followed over and was now stepping out into the garage, clearly aware that his best friend would possibly want to say goodbye and Joker glanced over when he heard the door close. Jayde slid closer to him where he stood over by the corner of the counter, scowling down at his small black notebook. Once she was close enough, she slid between the front of his body and the counter, smirking up at him as he sighed, setting the notebook down.

"I sure hope you're gonna say bye to me." she murmured quietly, fully aware that Dotcom was still on the other side of the kitchen, even though it looked like he was about to slide from the room hastily any second now. Joker's eyes squinted as he placed his hands on either side of the counter to lean on them, putting him more at eyelevel with her. His head cocked to the side.

"And if I don't?" he asked, glancing between her eyes, half-expecting some sort of sarcastic answer, although it looked as though she was searching hard for something to say. A moment later, she gave up, rolling her eyes with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I dunno, I'll be really bummed out." she answered honestly, but grinned when Joker let out a genuine laugh, the corners of his eyes wrinkling slightly. His lips met hers a second later, obviously uninterested in the fact that Dotcom was standing ten feet from them but he only kissed her for a few moments before he pulled away, leaving one last peck on her lips as he stood to his full height.

"Don't forget to lock up, ya hear me?" he barked at Dotcom, but then turned back to Jayde when he realized he couldn't put it off any longer. His left eye winked quickly as he smirked down at her. "Bye."

"Bye."

The moment the door had closed behind them, Dotcom turned to her, shaking his head. "You guys are such fags…"

*Hope it was everything you dreamed and more.* -QoM


	21. Awesome

After eating a wonderful, fabulously filling meal by Dotcom, and after taking their dishes into the kitchen to uphold her end of their bargain, Jayde had groaned, rolling her eyes when she found that apparently Joker and Tre had eaten before they left and had seen to it that they left their dishes in the sink for her to put away. Finally, after putting them all away and after having a cigarette on the back porch with Dotcom and after talking their way through several detailed conversations, Jayde was finally saying goodnight to him at the top of the stairs.

"Well, he'll probably be back here early in the morning." He was saying almost as if to comfort Jayde. Honestly, she didn't even miss him at the moment; she was more excited to sleep in his bed alone. "Probably no later than eight, I'm betting…" he was saying as he meandered down the hall toward his room, yawning as he went.

"'Night, Dotcom." She called after him, grinning when he tried to reply through his yawn. She watched him go for a few seconds, waiting until he had closed his bedroom door behind him before she trotted down to her room, eager to get in and out of the shower and into some fresh, clean pajamas.

It was not long before she had done all of this and had just finished brushing her teeth at the sink in her bathroom when she stepped out of her room and into the dark hallway. She hesitated at first, the realization that Joker was _not _at the house that night beginning to dawn on her quickly. A second later, she walked hastily down the hallway to his room, turning the handle and slipping inside to close the door behind her, all in one seemingly fluid motion. A heavy breath left her as she turned to lock the door, immediately figuring that the Joker was perfectly capable of picking the lock on his own bedroom.

After digging through the fluffy purple comforter on the bed for the tv remote, Jayde flipped it on, feeling another layer of comfort fill the room. And another moment later, she let out a soft groan as she climbed up into his bed, immediately laying in the middle on her stomach to stretch her arms and legs out. This bed was almost too comfortable for words and something in the way the mattress hugged her nearly always made her feel instantly sleepy. Jayde was just in the process of praising herself for not feeling completely lonely and sad that Joker wasn't there and had just pulled his pillow toward her when she took a deep, sleepy breath in. The vague, residual scent of his cologne filled her lungs, raising goosebumps along her forearms. Her eyes popped open…_Now _she missed him.

Thirty miles away, Tre stepped out of the Escalade in the far corner of a dimly lit parking lot, walking over toward Kieron as he glanced down at his phone at the far side of the car, before stowing it away in his pocket again. Surprisingly, even for April, it was still fairly cold out that night and as Joker exhaled, his breath escaped him in a puff of condensation. Tre was shaking his head.

"Man, you're just _waiting_ for that call from-..." he began but Joker cut across him, stopping mid-step to turn and glare at Tre.

"I was checking the _time, _Tre." He blatantly lied, immediately regretting it when his best friend rolled his eyes, shaking his head again as he walked on ahead of Joker, crossing the parking lot slowly.

"Even though you have…_two _watches…" he laughed from ahead of Joker, tossing his head slightly. "Nah, man, I'll tell you what you were doin'- you were checking your phone for the tenth time since we left the house an hour ago, because it's on silent and you're hoping she'll call you before she goes to sleep." Finally, Tre stopped walking and turned fearlessly to face Kieron as he caught up, pausing once he reached him. "I'm right." Joker's glare bounced between Tre's eyes from underneath a ridge of furrowed eyebrows, glancing over his face as if inspecting him.

"We gotta get you laid, mate, you're killin' me." Joker finally grumbled, turning to continue walking through the top of the parking lot toward the back doors of Puria Distribution Co. From behind him, Tre laughed, jogging forward to catch up. As they reached the doors, both of them drew their guns from the pockets of their coats. "The sooner we get you some ass, the sooner you'll get off mine…_and _Jayde's for that matter." He then added and with that, they both flung the doors open and strode inside, Joker raising his gun in the air to fire once. "Good _evening_!"

Normally, as Jayde woke, she could usually rely on the sunlight coming in through her window to give her some indication as to what time it was. However, this morning, it took only a second to wake up in darkness before she remembered where she was and why she was alone…and why she immediately felt cranky. The bed was as empty as it had been when she fell asleep and after noticing that the bedroom door had not been broken into, Jayde was safely assuming that the Joker was still not home…She had a feeling it was most definitely past eight in the morning as well.

Sighing irritably a few times, Jayde rolled out of Joker's comfortable bed, trudging over to the door to step out into the hallway and squint hard at the bright sunlight. With her eyes closed, she stepped out onto the landing, slowly forcing them open when she heard presumably Dotcom moving around in the kitchen below. She was _just _about to ask when he called out over his shoulder.

"He's not here yet." he said, turning to glance up at her as she started to walk down the stairs. "_But, _I did make you breakfast…" he then sang, waving the wooden spoon he had been cooking with like a magic wand. Despite her rather bitchy and somewhat disappointed mood, she grinned as Dotcom turned his back to her again, waving the spoon again. "And I don't _ever _make breakfast for the boys, honey, so you better count your lucky little stars."

After retrieving a cup of fresh coffee with one spoonful of sugar, Jayde sank into a chair at the table, running one hand into the front of her hair to move it from her face. Whatever he had made smelled absolutely wonderful and before long, he was walking over toward the table with two plates.

"Have you heard from either of them?" she asked him, glancing down at the beautiful, delicious looking omelet he had just set in front of her. Her stomach dropped when Dotcom shook his head, picking up his fork to take a bite of his own eggs.

"No, but that's nothing out of the ordinary." He answered, shrugging as he rolled his eyes. "Before you came along, Joker would leave all the time, sometimes for days. Never said where he went, and I never asked."

Jayde nodded, pausing, poking at a bit of her eggs with her fork, suddenly not so hungry anymore when her mind forced her to remember her dream…_nightmare_ from the previous night. It had been so realistic and the dreadful, hurt emotion she had been feeling had felt so incredibly real to her, even though she supposed the thought of Joker 'cheating' on her was rather laughable when she thought about it. The girl in her nightmare that she had caught Joker with was so incredibly pretty, so seemingly perfectly formed that it seemed ridiculous but something in the way he had laughed at her in the dream, the way he had asked why she had ever fooled herself into thinking they were actually a couple, made her want to break down and cry right where she sat.

She was about to mention this to Dotcom to somewhat explain why she was in such a shitty mood when the sound of the garage door sliding up caught her attention and they glanced at each other quickly. Jayde felt her stomach clench up, not necessarily because she was excited to see him, but rather because, surprisingly, she didn't really _want _to see him just then. She knew it was not his fault that she had dreamt that and that it was a little unfair to be mad at him for something he most certainly did not do, but she couldn't help it. Her mind could not stop replaying the way she had felt when she 'walked in' to find him with another girl. A few moments later, the garage door swung open before Tre stepped inside, followed shortly by the tall Joker, who inhaled deeply before exhaling contentedly with a grin. When he noticed Dotcom and Jayde seemingly glaring at him, his grin fell, followed by his shoulders. A second later, he shrugged, turning into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Successful night?" Dotcom finally asked casually, carrying he and Jayde's plates into the kitchen, along with her half-eaten omelet. Tre shrugged while Joker drained his glass.

"Somewhat." He finally answered, setting the cup of ice down on the counter to walk over toward the table where Jayde sat, staring mindlessly at a spot in the wood before her. Moving to stand behind her chair, he ignored the fact that Tre and Dotcom were still in the room as he leaned down, placing his hands on either side of her on the table. "_Honey_, I'm _home_…" he growled sarcastically against her cheek, leaving a kiss as Jayde tried not to huff an irritated laugh. Instead, she rolled her eyes, leaning to the side to distance her cheek from his lips.

"Mm-hm." She answered, resorting to now lightly rolling the edge of her napkin beneath her finger. The moment she had done that, regret flooded through her when she realized how Joker would _not_ like her attitude, especially after he had been out and awake all night long. It was likely that she was not the only one feeling rather cranky and _perhaps,_ she had just pushed her luck with that 'nice' streak of his.

A second later, Joker stood up from leaned down on the table, reaching down to grab her wrist in his hand and pull her up from her chair, forcing her to follow him to the stairs. Jayde followed without hesitation, swallowing hard on the lump that had formed in her throat when she noticed that Joker was not smiling. At first, at the top of the stairs, when she expected him to lead her over to his office or even his bedroom, she felt just a tiny bit of relief when he instead led her down the hallway toward her own room, opening the door once they had reached it. Immediately, she turned to face him.

"Look, I'm sorry-…" she began but Joker shook his head, pointing at the bed.

"Lay down." He instructed firmly. He must have noticed the vague wave of panic that flashed over Jayde's features as he sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'm not gonna _hurt_ you, I promise. Just lay down."

After staring at him for several seconds, Jayde finally moved to obey him, her body tense as she lay down on the bed slowly, watching him the entire time. Since he had already taken off his coat at the door downstairs, the only thing left for him to do was unbutton and roll up the sleeves of his shirt and remove his black leather gloves from his hands before he stepped over to the bed. Jayde let out a soft gasp when he reached out, placing his hands on her hips only to tighten his grip and pull her across the bed to the very edge.

His eyebrows were furrowed as he hesitated for only a second before reaching out to hook the tips of his fingers into the lining of her pajama pants and underwear, watching their path as he pulled them down, over her ass and along her thighs until he could toss them onto the bed next to where she lay. Jayde could feel her heart racing, banging relentlessly against her ribcage and as hard as she tried to convince herself that Joker was really not going to hurt her, she could not help but flashback to nearly four weeks prior and imagine that this was about to be her punishment for her attitude.

However, a moment later, Joker had knelt down to his knees at the edge of the bed, reaching one finger out to run lightly, gently along the length of her. Jayde's eyes widened slightly as the muscles in her back tensed automatically at his touch. From below her, Jayde vaguely heard Joker 'hmm' interestedly to himself as he reached out again to repeat his action, this time with a bit more pressure. Jayde let out a sigh, squirming slightly as he teased her. The heels of her feet had come to rest on the separation between the mattress and box spring and as Joker let his lips come to rest on the inside of her knee, her toes curled.

It had not taken long, but by the time Joker pushed his middle finger inside her, Jayde was practically dripping wet and breathing somewhat heavily. A soft groan escaped her as his middle finger was joined shortly by his pointer finger, sliding in before back out again, in and back out gently. A frustrated whimper escaped her as her hips ground against the movement of his hand. He was being completely silent, even though the half-scowl, half-smirk on his face plainly explained that he was concentrating but still clearly enjoying this. His lips kissed the inside of her thigh, further up as he added one more finger to his middle and pointer, gliding his right hands' ring finger into her as well, taking that previous moan of hers up a few notches when his thumb pressed against her clit.

Her toes curled again as she arched her back, panting slightly when the pace of his hand quickened a bit and she could feel the beginning of her finish coming on already, causing her to quiver slightly as she felt herself getting closer and closer every time his fingers pushed into her. True, it did not feel _as _good as when it was _different _part of his body in there, but still, the pressure he was applying to her sensitive clit made it somewhat hard to tell the difference in one form of pleasure versus another.

"_Joker…"_ she panted, closing her eyes to tilt her head back, although just as she felt herself on the threshold of finishing, he removed his fingers completely, leaning forward to clamp his teeth down on the inside of her thigh, up close, merely inches from where she was practically dripping, soaking the edge of the bed. Jayde let out a frustrated growl, squirming on the bed slightly as that wonderful pleasure drained from her body slowly, incomplete. Below her, she could vaguely hear Joker laugh quietly to himself before his tongue just barely slipped out to lightly flicker against Jayde's soaked, hyper-sensitive clit. She gasped, reaching out to the side for a handful of comforter to hold onto, moaning when he pressed both lips against the top of her, sucking gently before catching her between his teeth, biting as lightly as possible. Her entire body felt like it was vibrating with spasms although she sighed, relaxing her muscles again as Joker took his lips and teeth back.

A second later, Jayde yelped loudly when Joker's flattened tongue licked her from entrance to clit, where he began to trace, sliding his three pre-moistened fingers inside her once again, immediately moving them in a deep, strong rhythm. Jayde's toes pointed, her back arched and finally, after a few more strong pushes of Joker's hand, she whimpered his name, tilting her head back as she came hard, clenching around his fingers rhythmically.

A long, heavy, satisfied sigh left her as Joker wiped the scarred corners of his mouth on the inside of her thigh before he stood up, licking his bottom lip. A moment later, he had reached out for her discarded pajama pants, wiping his wet, sticky fingers on them before leaning over Jayde where she lay on the bed, breathing hard and barely sweating. His eyebrows raised when her eyes slowly opened to gaze up at him.

"Now stop acting like a bitch. Get a shower, get dressed, then come downstairs. We have some planning to do." He explained, but before Jayde could even force her brain to start coming up with responses or even a thank you for relieving the anxiety from her body, Joker had left the room, closing the door behind him as he went. Jayde exhaled heavily, smiling dazedly up at the canopy over her bed.

Twenty minutes later, Jayde was walking down the stairs, scrunching her damp hair with her fingers when she noticed Dotcom stepping inside from the garage with a large box in his hand that was barely even noticeable in front of the absolutely ridiculous grin on his face. She had just arched her eyebrow at him when he let out a silly, girlish giggle.

"Wait till you see all this stuff, girl…" he murmured as he walked past her to the stairs, and only once Jayde turned to look back did she notice the sample picture of a large computer screen on the box around his elbow. Her eyes rolled as she grinned.

Out in the garage, just past the Escalade, Jayde noticed Joker and Tre standing at the edge of it, apparently listening to someone talk as Tre was nodding and Joker was scowling, his hands tucked in his pockets. For just a moment or two, Jayde stopped to stare at his side-profile, noting the way his jaw line seemed more prominent with the white line of makeup and the way it curved.

A second later, as if he had felt her watching him, Joker turned his head, arching one eyebrow when she grinned, jumping slightly before immediately walking over. As she approached, Joker glanced her up and down before over at the man he and Tre had been listening to.

"Feeling better?" he asked her, cocking his head to the side to raise his eyebrows, smirking when Jayde blushed slightly, tucking a bit of her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," she answered in an exhale, only to lean to the side to look past Joker and Tre to the white van at the end of the driveway. "What's going on?" she then asked, frowning up at Joker, who nodded toward their guest.

"Mister Stevens agreed to loan me some equipment for a 'command central'." He explained, but paused before rolling his eyes. "Basically, its Christmas come early for Dotcom."

Jayde was about to reply with a laugh when the garage door swung open again and Dotcom stepped out, appearing a little winded but rather breathless with excitement. He tried to mask this the moment he noticed Tre, Joker and Jayde staring at him and cleared his throat as he walked over.

"Uh, you guys wanna help carry some of this stuff upstairs?" he asked hopefully, in reference to the van, full to overflowing with wires, cords and heavy-looking boxes. Joker let out a short bark of a laugh.

"Nope." He immediately answered, glancing to both sides at Tre and Jayde as he crossed his arms over his chest. When they both raised their eyebrows at him, he shrugged. "Hey, I set this whole thing up, I don't gotta carry _shit._"

It seemed, at the time, that this argument made sense to the rest of them, however, a half-hour later, when Jayde and Dotcom had _finally_ carried everything inside and up into Joker's office, they were both grumbling darkly to themselves about how Joker and Tre were more than likely doing absolutely nothing downstairs. Jayde offered to stay behind and help Dotcom set things up, but he merely insisted that she would only get in his way so since she tended to agree, she left him to it and ventured back downstairs to find out what was going on. Once she had found them on the patio, she stepped outside, grinning as both Joker and Tre looked up simultaneously.

"So what's the plan for tonight?" she asked, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was _definitely _something happening that night and that the date most certainly happened to be the fifteenth of April. The best friends exchanged a look before Joker nodded toward the door, indicating that he would like to have a few words with her alone. Tre immediately stood up and walked to the door, smirking down at her as she glanced at him on his way.

With Tre gone and the patio left empty with the exception of the two of them, Joker brought his foot up only to kick out a porch chair from under the table so she could sit down across from him. She obeyed, sitting before folding her hands in her lap with an expectant look on her face.

"I'll tell you the plans if you tell me what you were so pissed about earlier." He bargained, raising his eyebrows when Jayde rolled her eyes, groaning.

"No, c'mon, just tell me." she tried, but sighed heavily when Joker shook his head with a shrug of his shoulders. Her eyes fell to her lap as she weighed her options. On one hand, she could be honest and have him laugh at her wholeheartedly for being mad about a highly fictional dream, or on the other hand, she could make something up just so he would tell her…but then again, Joker was incredibly gifted with picking up a lie. Her shoulders slumped as she exhaled. "It's really stupid…" she finally began, lifting her eyes only for a second to glance at him as he leaned back in the chair, reaching out rest one hand on the table beside him.

"Try me." he prodded, watching her battle herself with furrowed eyebrows. She took a deep breath, letting her eyes fall to her lap again where her fingers twisted together.

"I had this dream…" she started, trying to think ahead a few seconds to how this would feel coming out of her mouth. Honesty was indeed the best policy, but it often made one feel incredibly stupid. "I had this dream that I came here one day and you…and…this…_girl…_were…ya know…" she stumbled and tripped her entire way through her words until she paused, glancing up to see if Joker had caught on yet. He was an incredibly smart man but had this annoying habit of playing dumb to get more of straight answer; he was using this tactic on Jayde at that very moment. His eyebrows arched.

"-Having _intercourse?" _he asked, obviously trying hard not to grin and instead held it back to remain interested and stoic. Jayde nodded quickly.

"Yeah and…you _laughed _ at me when I started crying, telling me I was…stupid for thinking that-…" Her voice trailed off and at this, she stopped altogether, knowing that she had gone and said too much…again. She swallowed hard on the lump that had formed in her throat while Joker stayed silent.

"_Sooo…_Let me get this straight…" he began, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, licking his lips as his forehead wrinkled lines into his makeup. "You were…_mad _at me…for something I _didn't _do?" The way it sounded when he said it made Jayde feel more like an idiot than she had ever felt in her life. Eventually, she nodded, rolling her eyes although a second later, she gasped when Joker suddenly grabbed the arms of her chair, pulling her closer forcefully until their knees locked. His eyes were widened slightly as he stared directly into hers, only a foot or so between their faces. "_That _is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard." He paused, raising his eyebrows as he nodded once. "And I suppose I told you it was stupid for you to think we were an actual couple, am I right?" When Jayde nodded, Joker sighed, hanging his head slightly in frustration.

"Jayde, I'm just as confused about us as you are, I wont lie to ya." He said, shaking his head. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit around on my ass and try to figure it out." he paused again, glancing over his shoulder at the inside of the house through the glass. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly 'Mister handsome', see? So the chances of finding a girl that finds me attractive enough to come with me willingly is about one in a million." He finally seemed to have stopped talking and was now apparently waiting for her to reply as his gaze bounced between her eyes a few times. Finally, the corners of her lips turned up just a little in a tiny grin.

"_I_ think you're Mister handsome…" she said bashfully, glancing down at her lap when Joker's scars stretched in a smirk.

"Like I said…One in a million."

Of course, once Joker had gotten his side of deal covered, he flat-out refused to tell Jayde the plan for that night and was now laughing as she stood up, huffing irritably as she prepared to stomp back inside. She was grumbling something under her breath about 'fuck you' but Joker ignored this and reached out, wrapping one arm around the top of her legs to pull her back until her ass met the arm of his chair and she fell backwards into his lap with a squeal. He hmm-ed contentedly, giggling through his nose as his arms formed an incredibly tight straight-jacket around her, holding her firmly in place as she squirmed to get away from him.

Finally, after nearly a full minute of fighting, cursing at him and pinching his arms, she gave up, exhaling heavily as she let herself relax against him. Somewhere in the previous seconds, his chin had come to rest on her shoulder, his eyes watching the backyard contentedly, blinking slowly. Jayde's head tilted slightly, resting against the side of his, taking in another deep breath to sigh when she thought back to the way she had felt about the Joker the first time she had ever met him. The thought of such a vile person had absolutely made her skin crawl and above all, scared her senseless…and now, here she sat, on his lap, rested comfortably against his chest and shoulder, simply admiring the silence with him….Where had things gone wrong?…Then again, where had things gone right, for that matter?

A few minutes after they had settled against each other, the glass door behind them slid open suddenly, surprising Jayde when she felt Joker's head jerk slightly against the side of hers as if he had been half-asleep. Dotcom was stepping out, followed shortly by Tre so Jayde moved to stand up from Joker's lap, coughing quietly in an effort to smooth out the awkwardness of being caught sitting on the boss' lap. Behind her, Joker cleared his throat with a somewhat sleepy groan as she stood up, leaning forward to rest an elbow on the table.

"So you guys are set on the plan for tonight?" he asked, bringing up two fingers to rub his eyes deeply, smearing his black makeup heavily into the white. "Dotcom, you're driving Jayde and I to the plant. Tre, you and Linman will go to-…" Tre cut him off.

"Yeah, we're going to Puria and overseeing the other three groups." He finished for him, frowning. "Go get some sleep, bruh. You look like shit." Joker frowned with his eyes closed, turning his head to open only one of them to look at Jayde. His eyebrow raised.

"Do I?" he asked as if he hadn't believed Tre but when Jayde giggled, nodding with a sympathetic expression on her face, he rolled his eyes, pushing himself up from the table with his hands.

"Someone wake me up at eight." He said over his shoulder, but paused halfway through the opening in the glass door. "And by _someone_, I mean _her_…Don't want either of you in my room while I'm sleeping and-," he paused to yawn. "-unawares…"

Jayde grinned as she watched him go, part of her wishing she could go with him, but another part of her knowing he wanted to be alone and she respected that. Part of being a person of interest to the Joker, she had learned by then, was understanding that while having one on one time with him was nice, leaving him time to be alone and apart from her was even more important. Jayde knew he wasn't her boyfriend, and she hadn't even had many in the past to begin with, it was common sense to her that being around someone all the time usually meant tension, irritability and death of the relationship…And causing the Joker to feel tense and irritable almost _always _ended in more than one kind of death.

The rest of the afternoon passed rather uneventfully although sitting on the couch watching HGTV with Dotcom while Joker and Tre slept was anything but boring. Apparently, he was just as much of a nut about interior design as he was about computers and cooking and for the better half of four hours, the two of them sat there, chit chatting about the shows and discussing how they would re-do Joker's house if given the chance. They had been laughing so loudly that at one point, Dotcom's phone rang, indicating that the Joker was calling from upstairs in his bedroom. He had answered with a roll of his eyes, putting it on speaker phone.

"Yeah, boss."

"If you two don't shut the _fuck _up…" he growled, but Dotcom cut him off.

"Sorry, we'll keep it down." And with that, the phone call ended.

Finally, the time was nearing seven o'clock when Dotcom stretched his arms out, groaning as he took his glasses off.

"Well, you should probably go start getting ready." He said, standing up from the couch to trudge over toward the stairs. "He said he wants you to wear the purple dress…" Jayde grinned, standing up to follow him upstairs when he paused, frowning. "I think its interesting how he likes you to dress up when you go out with him…almost like he's showing you off…like a trophy or something…" he was now musing aloud to himself, walking up beside Jayde. "…Honestly, I think he just likes the way your ass looks when you wear heels." They both burst out laughing but quieted a second later, casting anxious glances down toward Joker's bedroom door.

After a quick shower to re-set her curls, Jayde had reached all the way into the back of her closet for the purple dress and heels that Joker had 'acquired' for her all those months ago and had just slipped into it when she glanced at the time and noticed it was now nearing a quarter to eight. So after hastily yet carefully applying some mascara and eye-liner in the bathroom, she set out into the hallway, only to stop mid-step when her eyes fell onto the Joker standing in her doorway, fully dressed with his makeup freshly applied and perfect. His right scar twitched slightly in his smirk as she cocked her head to the side playfully.

"I bet you're about to tell me how gorgeous I look." She joked, turning her back to him to lift up her damp curls and expose the fact that the zipper on her dress was still down. At first, she wasn't sure if he even understood what she was asking him to do but a moment later, she sighed in partial relief when his hands reached out, holding the bottom of the zipper down with one, while the other slid up her back, closing the dress.

"_Actually," _he began, sliding his hands down quickly to grab a tight hold of both of her ass cheeks, forcing her onto her tip toes as he squeezed. "I was admiring to myself how you look good enough to _eat_…Oh, wait…Did I already do that today?" Jayde gasped, turning to face him with her eyes wide as he sneered down at her. "Let's go, c'mon…"

Downstairs, Dotcom was ready and waiting in the kitchen, looking completely at ease wearing dark green camouflage, military-style pants, tall black boots and a black long-sleeved shirt and of course…his studded belt. At the table, Joker had paused to pick something up so Jayde walked over, silently giving Dotcom a surprised look with a bounce of her eyebrows.

"You look _hot_, Dotcom." She whispered as she leaned down to step into the tall, purple heels, bracing herself against the counter. Above her, he rolled his eyes, giving in only slightly to the tiniest of grins.

"Oh, listen, honey. I know."

"Oh, _Tre."_ Joker called loudly in a high-pitched sing-song sort of voice, only to receive a muffled shout from the other side of the wooden double doors under the stairs.

"We leavin'?" he shouted, but appeared a second later before Joker had even replied. He too was wearing camo pants, boots and a black shirt but definitely pulled off the look with more masculinity than Dotcom did. Jayde laughed when he turned his back on Tre to face her with wide eyes and mouth the words 'oh my god'. She laughed, standing up straight once she had finally gotten the heels on only to find that Joker and Tre were now walking over.

"Alright so Linman should be outside already in the truck. Tre, you know what to do." Joker began instructing, pointing toward the door to let Tre know he had been excused. "Dotcom, you're driving the limo again. Kelly is going to call my phone at five-after nine. That gives me time to meet with Celini and…take care of uh-…business." He turned to walk out into the garage, talking over his shoulder to Jayde and Dotcom as if they were still listening to him run over his plan to himself. "I wanna get all of it out by midnight."

The usual half an hour ride to Gotham was probably the best one she had experienced since taking the route regularly. Joker had finally stopped running over the plan aloud and resorted to sitting in the back seat, bouncing his knee anxiously. Jayde wasn't sure if it was the dress she was wearing or the dim limousine lighting setting something of a mood, but for some reason or another, all she wanted to do was sit there leaned up against him comfortably. At first, she had hesitated, knowing that his nerves were on edge with excitement but she decided to at least try it and was now leaned against his side with his arm draped around her shoulders. Surprisingly, the bouncing of his knee was not bothering her like it normally did and her hand rested on it lightly as they both watched the bustling nighttime Gotham city as it passed by the window.

It was obvious that Joker was simply itching to roll down the window and take in a deep breath of contaminated city air but refrained from doing so until the limo had made it out of the busyness to the dark and dingy areas that followed, leading them closer and closer to the water. Being that it was so dark out and the windows so heavily tinted, Jayde found it difficult to recognize anything that she had seen the last time Joker brought her there, but once he rolled down the window, she instantly recognized the scent of the salt water and the random cry of a seagull. Jayde was just taking a deep breath in when beside her, Joker leaned forward to bring his arm from around her and reach into one of the variously-sized pockets inside his purple coat. She watched him until a moment later when his hand emerged, holding a tiny black handgun and one knife. Her hand reached out slowly when he held them out to her.

"These are gonna be yours from now on." he explained, turning his head to glance out of the open window, just before the limousine stopped, off along the back wall of the huge metal warehouse, tucked into the shadows. "Hide them." He then added, reaching over to slide his pointer finger down into Jayde's cleavage. "And here. we. go!"

As soon as Dotcom had gotten out and walked to the back to open Jayde's door like any good 'chauffeur' was supposed to, she slid out but waited for Joker to get out before even stepping a foot away from him. During the day, these docks were rather pretty in a third-world kind of way, however at night, the black rippling water and the general absence of noise, save for the light splashing of waves, made things much more eerie. A second later, Joker had gotten out and was now slipping his hand onto the small of her back to lead her along with him, over toward the back entrance to the water plant where they had met with the fat Italian man before.

"Not a word, understand? This man in under the impression that women are to be seen and not heard." He explained in a quiet, clowny, somewhat jumpy voice, indicative of the anxious, feral energy building up in his body by the second. Jayde felt her heart begin to pound anxiously, making it almost hard to hear what he was going on to say. Instinctually it seemed, her hand moved behind her back to grab a hold of his, hoping he wouldn't pull it away and that he understood that she could really use some encouragement at the moment. Joker must have noticed the way she was gripping him as he stopped mid-step, holding tight to her hand so she would stop and face him. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Hey…" he started, his eyes darting back and forth between hers a few times. "Relax, ok?" Jayde stared back up at him, nodding hastily as she swallowed hard on the lump that had formed somewhere between her stomach and mouth. "I'll be _riiight _next to you. I wont let anything happen, _trust_ me." Trotting along beside him, Jayde rolled her eyes; leave it to the Joker to say something almost comforting then add something sarcastic sounding to the end.

At the rusty metal door, Joker raised his fist, banging on it several times before taking a step back, tilting his head back to look up and to the sides of the tall building; Jayde figured he was checking for windows. There were none, Jayde had just noticed when the door in front of them swung open with a horribly grinding sound of metal on metal. A tall, muscle bound, bald man now stood in the way, staring down at them.

"Oh, I'm _sorry,_ I might have the wrong number…" he snarled, taking a step back to look up again as if he expected to find a house number somewhere on the façade of the metal building.

"You the Joker?" the man asked, his voice deep and baritone. Jayde noticed his eyes bounce from her 'date' back down to her before back up again. Joker waved a hand with a frown.

"_Nooo…_Santa Claus, actually. The Joker should be here any minute…" he answered, cocking his head to the side to squint at the tall man as if assessing whether or not he had caught the sarcasm. The thug rolled his eyes a second later, turning from the door to lead them inside, into a dark, damp hallway. Jayde stepped inside behind Joker, feeling incredibly as though she had just been tossed head-first into a horror movie. A few sparse, flickering light bulbs hung from the seemingly high ceilings and from behind several shadowed doorways. She glanced up at Joker but found the hallway much too dark to see an expression there…she could safely assume he was perfectly at ease in these dingy, rather scary surroundings.

At the end of the hallway, Joker and Jayde and their guide met a doorway, that opened a moment later, revealing an unsurprisingly dimly-lit, albeit rather nice office. A few dark couches lined the walls behind a large conference table in the middle of the room. Being that Mancino Celini was so vast, it took Joker only a seconds glance to find him, sitting on the far side of the room, puffing happily on a cigar as if he had just won some sort of lottery.

"Ah, Mister Joker!" he cried, rolling to the side slightly to move around his enormous stomach and push himself off the couch. Joker seemed to notice how much of an effort this cost him but made no effort to stop him. "I see you've come to…pay me, yes?" he asked, wheezing slightly as he waddled over, raising his great bushy, black eyebrows. Jayde watched his eyes flicker over her figure momentarily, just as they had the last time she had met him and she felt her stomach clench up uncomfortably just as it had before. Joker took a step forward toward the table, holding his hand out toward a chair.

"Yes, actually, I have." He answered somewhat politely, taking a seat across from Celini once he had lowered his great mass down into the chair. "Although, I don't normally negotiate, I think we can agree to…say…ten-thousand? For all twelve trucks?" Joker held up a hand in an offering sort of gesture but frowned when Celini shook his head.

"No, no, no…I work hard for three months saving blood for your games, clown, I require at least fifteen." He said in a loud, thick accent, taking another deep couple of puffs from his lit cigar, leaning back in the chair to tuck his thumb into the line of his expanded waistline. Jayde had to fight not to roll her eyes. There was no way Joker was going to let this silly man get away with talking to him like that, much less _bargain _with him. A moment later, her jaw nearly fell open when Joker nodded.

"By 'work hard', you mean 'sat around smoking cigars and drinking Prosecco'? It's alright…English is a tricky language, I know…" he said, his voice rather smooth yet condescending, cocking his head to the side slightly. When the man simply blinked at him with a half-grin, Joker leaned forward slightly, tapping one finger on the table. "I'll do twelve and five-hundred…for your…_troubles._"

From her place in the shadows of the door, Jayde watched the Italian man's eyes squint slightly at the Joker, assessing his offer, wondering if it were really wise to keep up the bartering when it was obvious he was _not _going to be receiving the full amount he had requested. It seemed even such a dull individual was perfectly aware of the danger of refusing the Joker when he was already being so 'generous'. A few moments later, his fat, stubby hand patted the table.

"Fine, twelve and the five-hundred and we call it even, although this is very generous of me, you understand!" he exclaimed, watching Joker's hand with beady, attentive eyes as he reached into the inside of his coat. When it reemerged holding several stacks of money, he seemed to deflate slightly in relief. "Ah, you are very interesting!" he suddenly said once he had reached out to count the money Joker had just set on the table. "I expect jokes from you, since you are Joker," He commented, glancing over at Jayde as she stood silently, watching. "But you seem like an honest business man, even if your tactics are somewhat strange."

Honestly, Jayde agreed with the Italian on this, fairly surprised on her own that Joker was being so civil and hadn't made any attempt to claim this man's life…yet. Joker let out a laugh, holding out his hands with a shrug. "What can I say?…I'm a man of my word…" he then growled with a sinister grin that Jayde could practically hear from where she was standing. That increasingly familiar sense of evil began to fill the room once again, bringing in that electric buzzing noise. Celini seemed ignorant.

"A drink! We celebrate good business and to your…success!" he exclaimed, grunting as he leaned forward to try and push himself up from the chair heavily. Joker held out a hand, rising from the table.

"No, sit, my friend. Let me get them." He offered 'kindly', turning from the table to walk over toward a small alcove where a tray with assorted liquors, glasses and a container of ice sat. Jayde watched him go, swearing for a split second that she had noticed his eyes flicker to hers…could have been the lighting. "Pick your poison, Mancino. Brandy? I see you have scotch here…champagne? I like your style on that yard…" he was commenting casually, his back to the room as Celini laughed, patting his belly as he leaned back in his chair.

"Anything, my man! I like a good surprise!"

Over at the liquor, Joker laughed quietly, shaking his head once. "A man after my own heart…"

A few moments later, Jayde watched as Joker carried two glasses back over to the table, passing by her as if she was a clock on the wall. The amber liquid in the glasses sloshed slightly as he set one down in front of Celini on the table, before sitting across from him, clanking the rim of his glass against the rim of the other.

"To good-…" Joker began to make a mock toast but the fat man leaned forward, frowning at his glass before over at Joker.

"I like your business skills, clown, but I do not trust you. How about I take _your_ glass…" he reached out a short arm, pushing his glass away from him. "…And you take mine." Joker was scowling, but shrugged a second later, sliding his glass across the table.

"Suit yourself." He answered, taking a sip of what was formerly Celini's untainted glass of Scotch. Jayde felt her stomach drop when she realized that she felt slightly disappointed…was Joker not going to kill this guy?

"To good business and being men of our word!" Celini exclaimed in what he obviously believed to be a triumphant sort of toast, before bringing the glass to his lips, tilting his head back to drain the contents and swallow with a content, sloppy grin on his face. Joker raised his own glass, taking a slow sip as he watched symptoms manifest rapidly in his newest and most unsuspecting victim.

Within seconds, Mancino's face had turned blue, his fingers and hands grabbing roughly at his neck, trying to loosen his tie from around his fat neck as if thinking it was the object causing him to suffocate. Suddenly, Jayde's heart was pounding out of control, her ears throbbing as she watched the Italian start to seize violently. Just under the sound of the blood rushing in her ears, she heard Joker counting.

"Three…two…"

A second later, Mancino Celini was face down on the floor, motionless, slowly growing cold, dead. With a sigh, Joker rolled his eyes, rising from his chair to lean down to fit his hands underneath the body, groaning as he rolled him onto his back with great effort.

"Why do the fat guys always gotta die face-down?" he was grumbling irritably to himself, digging around in the dead man's pockets until he had reclaimed his money. If Jayde hadn't been in something of a shock, she would have laughed, but instead jumped when he addressed her.

"You got somethin' to say over there, tits?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as he stood up, tucking his money back into his coat. Blinking hard, Jayde shook her head as she walked toward him, glancing down at the dead body.

"That was-…That was just…" she was stammering blindly for some sort of adjective she could use to describe what had just happened, but only seemed able to come up with one thing. "That was _awesome!"_

A/N: To be continued, guys, very shortly. Once again, the chapter got too long and the next few parts have gotta flow together. TRUST me, you wont be disappointed…LEAVE ME YOUR MUH'FUCKIN LOVE/HATE IF YOU REALLY WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! –Queen of Mean


	22. Getting Even Again

Rated M…for Mature. This is an interim chapter, a follow-up on the last one. I just cannot get my chapters short enough and keep having to split them up! ENJOY.

As Jayde followed Joker quietly along that dark and dingy hallway, her hand clamped tightly in his, she couldn't stop wishing he would just slow down. It seemed his previous murder had sent him into overdrive and Jayde now felt as though she were trotting along, trying to keep up with a ball of anxious energy as they wound their way out of the building, back outside and onto the dock. Jayde took an immediate deep breath in of the salty air, clearing her head and lungs of the fuzzy, dense feeling she had been clogged with from being inside that dark and muggy building. A moment later, Joker's hand released hers to frame the side of his mouth and let out a shrill whistle with his teeth and tongue, waving with his other hand for Dotcom to get out of the limousine and join them.

As hard as she had been trying to ignore it, the brisk breeze off of the water seemed to be doubling it's efforts to make her shiver so finally, she gave in, reaching up to rub her bare arms. Her weight shifted from one heel to the other, glancing up as Joker turned to frown down at her, his eyes shifting to the huge goosebumps on her arms. One of his eyebrows arched before he turned back to Dotcom, walking towards them.

"I would offer you my coat, but then I would be cold." He explained, glancing down at her from the corner of his eye as Jayde rolled her eyes heavily. His tongue clicked behind his teeth as though he were hesitating. "If you _really_ want to, you can go sit in the car." He then eventually offered, although Jayde could tell he had to really fight himself on whether or not to put that option on the table. Figuring that he would much rather her stay close to him, Jayde turned slightly, lowering her voice as Dotcom walked up. She had to make it seem like it was an issue on her part and not like she had noticed the underlying note to the hesitation in his voice.

"I'm not getting more than five feet away from you at any point tonight." She answered quietly, hoping he took that as her being uneasy and not that she knew he didn't want her out of his sight. Her eyes looked up at him, only to catch a glimpse of the tiniest of smirks sliding into view on his face. Dotcom had now walked up, grinning but looking a little winded.

"The trucks are waiting on the other side. The first three should already be in place." Joker was suddenly explaining, turning to walk over toward the tallest part of the building where three semi-trucks were lined, backed into giant docking slots in the metal wall of the building. Dotcom and Jayde followed suit, taking extra long strides to keep up with him as he rattled off instructions. "Go to the trucks, tell them to start dumping on my command. I'll be inside, overseeing. I figure it takes about seven or eight minutes for one truck to drain, we do them staggered at three minute intervals, all twelve trucks should be drained within an hour… _half _– hour if we're lucky and our driver's aren't morons, which seems a little unlikely at this point, seeing how their _boss…"_ he was now seemingly talking to himself, laughing here and there but Jayde wasn't listening. Her attention had been pulled off to the side momentarily, off on a tangent of wondering why Joker had chosen this path for his life. It was obvious that he was leadership material, clearly most confident when he was in charge and giving out direction. There was no doubt, he would have made an incredible captain or official for a police force or even the military, and yet he had chosen the path of pure immorality, a life chock-full of crime and angst and pressure. He seemed to be thriving. Beside her, Dotcom was now finally replying to his boss' commands.

"I'll go start the first truck."

With that, he took of at a trot toward the semi-truck closest to them, leaving Joker and Jayde to walk back over to the larger of the two metal doors, slipping inside once he had wrenched it open. The sound of rushing water met their ears the moment the door creaked open and although it was fairly dark inside this new room, the echoing sound of the door closing behind them made it clear that they had stepped into an enormous, vast area. Joker's hand had let go of hers to open the door but when Jayde felt him take a few steps away from her in the dark, she reached out somewhat blindly until she felt the material of his coat against her fingers. She hooked a few of them into the thick outside pocket, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Either he hadn't felt it or didn't care, Joker was now turned to a large panel of switches, scowling at it until he had apparently found what he was looking for and reached out, flipping the biggest one on. The faint buzz of electricity was nearly unnoticeable under the sound of rushing water although a moment later, huge lights way overhead flipped on, casting the entire giant room in a sickly greenish glow. Jayde let out a small gasp as she turned to face it.

Not even a foot from the tips of her heels, the metal walkway they had been standing on ended in a sharp drop off with no guard railing, leading directly down into an absolutely enormous pit of circulating water, swirling and rushing below them. Giant turbines at the far end of the room churned and filtered the water crudely, creating that buzzing, grinding sound she had been noticing upon first entering the room. Beside her, Joker was grinning out at the vastness.

"Welcome to Gotham's water processing plant." He said, glancing at her as he held out a hand toward the swirling water. "Time for blood."

Over at the mouth of the giant room, Jayde now noticed the end of a semi-truck, inching ever so closely to the opening before it stopped and Dotcom appeared around the very edge, looking over at Joker, who nodded his head. A second later, the back doors of the truck opened and out came rushing a wave of a dark red, sickeningly thick-looking substance that Jayde was having a hard time convincing herself was blood. She was just about to turn and gape open mouthed at Joker as he grinned, when a huge wave of the worst smell she had ever encountered washed over them. Instinctually, she gagged, clamping her hand quickly over her nose as Joker laughed, bringing the edge of his coat up over the lower half of his face.

"Holy shit! What is that smell?" she squealed nasally in disgust, frowning up at him as he scrunched his nose up, digging around in his pockets hastily.

"Well, whaddya think it is?" he called back over the sound of the water and now pouring contaminant. "It's _blood!"_ Finally, it seemed he had been unsuccessful in finding what he had been looking for and was now motioning her toward the door. "Let's bail. I didn't think it would smell this bad." He said.

"What?" Jayde shouted over the noise. Joker pointed to the door.

"Red team, GO!"

Once outside, Jayde laughed, turning to Joker as he exhaled heavily as if he had been holding his breath, only to inhale deeply a moment after. "I couldn't stand it either, don't worry." She consoled him, walking up to slide her fingers back into his pocket as he coughed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, _puking_ woulda put a cramp in my evening, see…"

Luckily, Joker could safely assume, even from standing outside, that the blood was making it directly into the water supply and the thought of waking up in the morning to breaking news about Gotham's latest catastrophe made him want to go home and sleep right then, just so it would come faster. Of course, he _did _still have some plans for that night when they returned to the house, plans that involved bending Jayde over some sort of tall-ish object in his house. That morning had really only been pleasurable for Jayde, although he did enjoy watching her squirm. However, all it had really done for _him_ was leave him horny and itching for more. As he stood there, watching the trucks shift positions and continue to drain, his mind started to wander through the mansion thirty miles away, wondering what would be a good height for Jayde to lean over…A second later, Joker was distracted from his thoughts when he felt her shiver against his arm.

It seemed, upon looking down that Jayde was trying to fight it again, obviously hoping not to look weak or like she couldn't handle it. With a roll of his eyes, Joker slid his heavy coat off of his arms, draping it around her shoulders to instantly stop her random shivers. He looked away back to the trucks when he felt her eyes snap up to him and his arms folded over his chest.

"Your shivering was _annoying _me." he explained. Jayde rolled her eyes, grinning to herself as she pulled the edges of his coat further across her body.

Unfortunately, unloading the trucks of their 'contents' took over an hour, leaving Joker somewhat agitated when the three of them walked back to the limo at a quarter to midnight. Dotcom tried to appease him by explaining every little thing that had gone wrong with the drivers.

"Well, one guy was half- asleep and the other one I'm pretty sure was high…" he was saying, but Joker cut him off, shaking his head.

"Ahhh! I don't care!…It doesn't matter. I'm just glad everything got out by twelve. That was the goal." He was saying, turning Jayde to face him before she could climb into the back seats, reaching into the inside pockets of his coat she was still wearing. A second later, he pulled his phone out, scowling down at it as he got into the car after Jayde. She slid his coat from her shoulders, stretching out slightly along the stretched leather seats, crossing one of her legs over the other, grinning when she noticed Joker's eyes follow the movement of her heel. He looked away, holding the phone to his ear.

"Brother, is everything in order?" he asked once Tre had picked up after a few rings.

"Yeah, man, we just finished up here. The other groups are about to be done. Should I dismiss?"

"Yeah, head back to the house."

Once Joker had hung up, his eyes slid over to Jayde's where she leaned along the seat, watching him with that playful smirk arching her scar just enough to make it fully visible and illuminated in the dim limo lights. His tongue slipped out to trace the scar on his bottom lip quickly, squinting over at her as his finger pressed down on a button in the handle of the door next to him. The partition between Dotcom and the rest of the limo started to rise automatically as Joker crossed one ankle over his other knee, pointing a finger at her as one of his eyebrows arched.

"I'm gonna fuck you if you don't stop lookin' at me like that."

Finally, after another thirty minutes, Joker, Jayde and Dotcom were stepping inside the huge house, turning on a few lights as they went. Tre and Linman were not back yet but Jayde figured they would be soon if they had been leaving around the same time. Dotcom had gone to the kitchen and was talking about heating something up for them to eat, but she wasn't all that hungry and was too busy enjoying the effect walking around in her heels was having on Joker. She knew he wasn't at all bashful about grabbing her ass in front of their other roommates but was mildly surprised that he seemed to be trying hard to ignore her.

So after she had gotten a glass of water, she walked over to him where he stood, reading something at the table. She sat down on top of it, crossing her legs daintily as she looked up at him, scowling down at the paper in his hand. "I'm gonna take a shower." she practically purred, now giving it everything she had to get his attention, and was about to go on and ask if he wanted to join her when he nodded absentmindedly.

"Mm-hmm…"

So with that, Jayde rolled her eyes, hopping down off the table to march upstairs and close the door behind her. If he wanted to play that sort of game, she could play too. After removing her heels and dress, she stepped into the bathroom, wondering where along the way Joker had fallen into a bad mood. Had it been something she said? Did it even have anything to with her? Was he mad at Dotcom? Tre? For several minutes, Jayde stood there naked, leaned against the counter, staring at the carpet while the shower heated up and only once she felt slightly damp from all the steam in the room did she realize that the water had been warm for quite some time now. With a sigh, she decided it didn't matter why he had seemed so suddenly disinterested. It was just his personality to be unpredictably moody, and it worried her to notice that she was getting more and more used to it.

Twenty steamy and rejuvenating minutes later, Jayde stepped out onto the second story landing, now dressed in comfortable pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt, glancing around at the bottom floor to see who was there. It appeared that Tre and Linman had made it back, although it seemed the police officer had already left and now Dotcom and Tre were outside smoking, leaving Joker on the couch, flipping through channels on the large flat-screen television. His search ended a moment later, when he found a news station, tossing the remote onto the empty couch space next to him. Jayde felt her stomach start up with butterflies when she noticed he had taken off his gloves and rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows; she didn't know why but it was so _sexy_ to her when he wore shirts like that. At some point, he had taken off his vest and tie, unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt and slid the straps of his suspenders from his shoulders so they now lay uselessly on either side of him. Jayde licked her lips when she quite literally felt her mouth start to water.

Although she was slightly hesitant about going to sit next to him on the couch, she figured if she really wanted at least a _little _affection from him after their rather crazy night and before going to bed, seemingly alone, there was only one way to get it. So after taking an emboldening breath in, she walked down to the couch and around the edge of it, ignoring the scowl on his face as she sat down a foot or two away from him.

At first, he made no indication that he even knew she was there, although after a few seconds, he sighed, lifting his arm to the back of the couch, leaving an empty space just next to him. Jayde grinned, immediately taking this an invitation to scoot closer to him, which she took him up on, feeling vaguely like an excited dog that had just gotten invited to sit in its master's lap. Her head rested on his shoulder as she sighed when again, Joker failed to respond and was still scowling at the news reporter, his head slightly lowered, his eyes narrowed. Jayde wanted to say something but was distracted when she heard his name mentioned on the tv.

"_Officials determined that the Joker is indeed the one responsible for Wednesday's car bombing and for the murder of Detective Olivia Mitchell. The GPD and Gotham News 9 would like to extend condolences to her family. The memorial service is set to be delayed until further discoveries are made on any upcoming attacks…" _

Finally, Joker chuckled, rolling his head to each side to crack his neck a few times and Jayde jumped at the opportunity to bring him out of that dark corner of his.

"So when everyone goes to turn on their water tomorrow…" she began, tilting her head back to look up at the side of his face, watching his makeup wrinkle slightly in his half-grin.

"You mean when John Smith goes to take his shower? Or when Betty Sue goes to water her plants?" he asked, finally glancing down at her. "If they don't live on the furthest outskirts of the city, yes, their water will be contaminated with blood. Or when the stores and restaurants get their orders of bottled water for the day? That'll be blood too." Jayde gasped, inching ever so slightly closer to him in what she liked to think was awe.

"Really? Is that what Tre and the others were doing?" she asked in earnest excitement, noting quickly that the easiest way to get Joker to talk was to ask him something about one of his brilliant plans or ideas. When he nodded with a smirk, she shook her head slowly. "You are such a genius…" Stroking his ego a little bit never hurt either…

It seemed, at last, that Jayde had broken through Joker's wall of moodiness and was now smiling placidly up at him as he nodded. "Yes, I am, actually." He answered before lowering his head to bounce his eyebrows twice. "Kinda sexy, huh…" Against her will, a tiny giggle escaped Jayde as she turned slightly, sliding one of her legs over his to dangle in between his knees and she was just about to lean forward and catch his lips when the sliding glass door opened behind them on the other side of the room.

Dotcom was the first one in and seemed to notice what was going on over on the couch, but just when Jayde began to feel awkward and went to take her leg back, Joker held onto it, keeping her in place, half sitting on his lap. He turned his eyes back to the tv, clearing his throat deeply.

"'Bout _bedtime_ for you two, dontcha think?" he asked loudly, glancing at Jayde from the corner of his eye as she began to blush at the obvious and totally conspicuous way he had asked their roommates to leave the room. Dotcom seemed to take the hint, moving to the stairs immediately while Tre lingered, obviously looking for a way to piss his best friend off a little. He was grinning at Jayde as she turned to look at him, rolling her eyes as if trying to explain that Joker had been kidding, even though they both knew he had not been

"Nah, bro-, I'm not even tired. I'm thinkin' about-…" Joker cut him off.

"Tre? Leave. Now."

"Man, _damn, _just cuz you got tired of your room, you gotta come down here and kick everyone out? Man, that's _fuuucked up, _dog…I oughta-…" Tre was now ranting aloud as he disappeared into his room, his voice following him as he closed the door behind him. Joker grunted a laugh, glancing at Jayde.

"-My black friend." He grumbled as if that would make a great name for a sitcom. Jayde giggled, rising from the couch abruptly and Joker watched her go, slightly confused. He definitely had not been including her in dismissing everyone from the room, and was about to find it rather pointless in being down there at all if she wasn't with him, when all of the lights went out, leaving the couch and living space bathed in blue glue from the television. Suddenly, Jayde was back and was placing one of her knees to the left of him, and the other to the right, lowering herself onto his lap facing him. Her hands slid gently onto his shoulders.

"At least I get you all to myself now." She purred, keeping her voice low and quiet.

Joker's hips shifted under her gentle weight, reacting to her tone immediately. His hands followed suit instinctually, reaching out dig his thumbs into her hipbones, rocking her forward forcefully, before back again, his eyes half-lidded and watching. "Unlike your _dream_ last night, hm?" he growled, grinning up at her with that crooked snarl of a smirk. Jayde pouted, tilting her head to the side as she leaned forward slightly, leaning on her hands as they rested on his chest now.

"Ya know, I wanted to _kill_ that girl in my dream…" she started, leaning forward further a second later to rest her forearms on his shoulders and press her lips to his jaw just before his ear. "-…for trying to steal _my _dick from me." Joker let out a deep laugh, pulling his head away slightly to look at her with one eyebrow raised.

"_Your _dick_?" _ he reiterated, watching her lips as she licked the bottom one slowly, lingering a second longer on the scarred corner of her mouth. She nodded, grinning playfully at him. Joker hmm-ed as more of his blood migrated rapidly from his brain, his heart rate increasing steadily. "I _like_ that…"he growled, tilting his head to the side slightly when Jayde pressed her lips there, moving her hips slowly and gently, grinding against his lap as his hands guided her movement at her waist. "Tell me, _love…_how would you have killed her if it had been real?"

For just a second, Jayde grinned to herself against his neck, puckering her lips. She had always had the suspicion that Joker was a bit more of a freak than he had been letting on. Not that Jayde was complaining…Her tongue snuck out to lightly moisten that wonderful weak spot on his neck.

"I would have held a gun to your head and made you strangle her with your bare hands." She finally replied, smirking triumphantly when she felt Joker's grip on her hips tighten. He growled deep in his chest, raising goosebumps the size of speed bumps all along her arms and Jayde felt a surge of moisture rush to her aid as she clenched from the sound of his raspy groan. Her mind was slipping quickly into that foggy haze that normally clouded her whenever the animal inside Joker came to life and she was just about to move off of his lap to continue with her plan when his hands tugged down hard on her hips, pulling her flush against him, making absolutely positive there was no mistaking the solid erection he had been trying to fight off. Jayde's eyes widened with her soft gasp although he had only furthered her point; if she didn't get started now, there was no chance for her to get even.

Moving from his lap, Jayde's knees came to rest on the carpet in front of the couch, in between his legs. It seemed Joker was about to protest when his eyes narrowed down at her in the dark. The tv cast a glow against the fading makeup on his face, causing the dark rings around his eyes to appear deeper and blacker than usual; the rings tightened when he squinted, assessing her next moves. Her mouth was caught in a half-grin as she tucked her fingers into the line of his pants, glancing up at him as if waiting for him to stop her although he was currently the furthest thing from it. His curiosity was _killing_ him.

If Jayde was really about to do what he thought she was, then this was bound to be entertaining. He knew that she had only done this once before in her life but the first time, he had found it fun to coach her through it; it would be interesting to see how much coaching he would have to do this time. He was about to open his mouth to say something, probably stupid or rude, but instead resorted to silence when she broke through her nerves and started unbuttoning the old fashioned triple buttons to his pants before sliding the zipper down. Already, Joker felt a huge amount of pressure leave his lower half and he sighed as Jayde tugged down on the purple clothes, pulling them far enough to free him from its constraint.

Joker shifted slightly to sit lower on the couch, watching her eyes as she stared at his boxers, apparently unsure of what to do now. His scars started to stretch when he wondered how long he could force himself to tolerate this before he picked her up. Finally, Jayde reached out again, tugging down on his boxers, releasing him fully, only to wrap her hand around him firmly a second later. He tried hard not to sigh or make any indication that he was enjoying this, deciding that if she wanted his true reactions, she would have to work for it. Her hand moved to the tip of him before back down, squeezing gently. _Not a bad start…_

It seemed now that Jayde was fighting with herself on whether to give up and let him have control or to lean forward and plant those lips right on the very tip of him. Joker tried hard not to grunt a laugh when he imagined the sort of thoughts going through her mind. _Probably __**scared…**_he thought, leaning his head back against the couch to close his eyes, wondering if maybe she had 'performance anxiety' _Hahahaha…_

A second later, Joker's breath hitched in his chest with a small gasp when Jayde's tongue slipped out to trace the tip of him before closing around him, tightening her cheeks to make a delightful, soft noise when she released him another moment later. Joker was about to sit on his hands to keep from twisting into her hair as he was starting to make a game of this. Jayde seemed to notice his fingers tightening into fists at his sides as she giggled quietly, leaning forward to lick him again, from bottom to top. At the tip, she swirled her tongue again to repeat her actions, taking half of him into her mouth again. Joker remained quiet although she noticed him holding his breath a moment later.

Jayde could remember very clearly the only other time she had done this and how much more comfortable she felt doing it now that she wasn't leaning across the middle of her car while he drove. Now, she was free to use her hands…that, and honestly, she had done a little research on the internet while he had been in jail, _just in case _she ever had the opportunity to try it again with him. Joker seemed to be holding out on her, doing everything in his power not to react and this was starting to irritate Jayde. One of her favorite things was the way he groaned or grunted deeply and honestly, she had been itching for him to pull her hair. It was time to turn things up a notch or two.

Her absolutely drooling mouth had done wonders to wet him so her hand could glide freely up and down the length of him, twisting slightly as she moved, watching his face for expressions. His head was still tilted back, his eyes closed but he seemed to feel her watching him and looked down finally, opening his eyes to meet hers. Her lips expanded into a playful grin as she met his eyes, just as the tip of her tongue snuck out to just barely lick the tip of him. Joker watched this, letting out a deep growl as one of his fists unclenched only to give in and twist into the front of her hair. Jayde felt goosebumps rise all over her again, encouraging her to keep going, want more.

Her mouth closed around him again, sucking gently before increasing the pressure only to release it a second later, making a loud smacking noise against him. Finally, Joker grunted, his hips bucking instinctually. His plan was most definitely going out the window, leaving him rather defenseless as Jayde started moving her hand along the length of him, following with her mouth in perfect rhythm. With his eyes closed, it _almost_ felt as good as her pussy but something in the way she looked with his dick in her mouth made this all completely worth it. Joker's knee started to bounce as he panted a few times, tilting his head back.

Jayde stopped when his knee started jiggling next to her, making it fairly difficult to keep going. Her elbow pressed down on it as she looked up at him when he opened his eyes, apparently confused as to why she'd stopped. It seemed, from the look in her eyes, that he understood and stopped his knee, laughing quietly as she returned to what she was doing, watching him watch her as she did so, loving the way he blinked slowly, his eyes glazed over and half-lidded.

Joker was no different than any other guy on the topic of this sort of thing- he loved it as much as the next man did. But along the lines of his life, through his encounters with the female species, Joker had come to notice that by the time she even got into the full swing of things, he was almost always ready to just say 'fuck the bullshit' and nearly always ended up taking control at this point. But surprisingly, _somehow_, Jayde had gotten pretty good at this and Joker was thoroughly enjoying it, so much so, he failed to notice that he had been thinking so hard, he wasn't really paying attention to that game he had started or how hard he had been pulling her hair. Jayde whimpered against him in her mouth, pulling away to look up at him when he opened his eyes again. She glared at him for a second as he grinned.

Again, her mouth closed over him, although this time, she immediately went back to that dangerous rhythm, clearly deciding that it was time for him to suffer a little bit. Joker took a deep breath, shifting where he sat as his hand slid back into her hair, pulling more gently this time when she let her lips smack against him again, then again and again, each time she came to the tip. Joker resisted a reaction each time, until Jayde took him in her mouth again and he could not help the frustrated growl that echoed slightly in the tall, marble-floored room. There was every chance that Tre was awake in his room not even twenty feet from them, but Joker was beyond caring. There had been many times when he had walked in on some random, incredibly awkward situations involving Tre and something along these lines when they lived together.

Jayde's mouth and hand were moving in perfect sync, down to the base of him before up to the tip. Joker was breathing hard and seemed to be enjoying himself, but honestly, Jayde's knees were starting to hurt a little and she was getting the feeling that Joker had the ability to fight it off long enough to where she could likely be doing this for another hour. So abandoning all pretense, she kept one hand on the base of him, moving gently while her other snuck underneath his balls to the soft skin there, only to press her thumb against it deeply. _Finally, _Joker's back arched slightly as he groaned, tilting his head back only to look back down a second later, his eyes practically closed as he panted.

"Stop, Jayde…_Stop_." He rasped deeply, clearing his throat as he tried to sit up when he felt himself seriously one and a half seconds from spontaneously combusting. If they both wanted to take this another step further, she had to stop now. Jayde pulled away from him, staring up at his eyes sternly.

"_No."_ she growled at him, pushing against that incredibly sensitive, hidden spot again, sliding her hand down him to place her mouth over the tip of him. Joker whined as he panted, finally realizing that this had been her plan all along; to get even for what he had done.

"_Fuck, _Jayde…" he grunted, his fingers tightening on her hair again to the point where he felt a few strands pluck free from her scalp. He was sweating slightly now, squirming forcefully on the couch as Jayde tortured him thoroughly, his breathing heavy and staggered until finally, she pushed her knuckle against him one more time, pulling away from him to watch him as he tilted his head back with his jaw dropped, forcing himself not to yell 'FUCK' at the top of his lungs as he came, trembling slightly in his effort.

Pearly white liquid dripped down over him, but Jayde took her hand back as Joker exhaled with a groan, his entire body relaxing into the couch. His chest rose and fell fairly deeply, his heart banging out of control as he sat there with his eyes closed, reaching up to push some of his hair from his face. He felt Jayde stand up and walk away. At first, he thought she was simply leaving him there to go upstairs and go to bed, but she returned a moment or two later, standing in front of him, holding a white hand-towel. When his eyes opened, she handed him the towel, watching his still half-painted face as he rested the towel over him, bringing his finger up to beckon her closer. Jayde leaned down, only to sigh when he pressed his lips against hers deeply, sliding his hand to the back of her neck under her hair. He pulled away a few moments later, licking his lips as he exhaled against her.

"You're evil." He murmured somewhat weakly. Jayde opened her eyes to peer deep into his as he did the same, tilting his head to the side.

"I think you mean 'amazing'." She supplied, standing back up to walk around the edge of the couch and over to the stairs. "G'night, Joker." He waved one hand lethargically.

"Uh-huh?"

A/N: Alright, so. I have a question for you guys. I have several different ideas on how this story should end. I have not decided on doing a third story for the Joker and Jayde series yet, but I was wondering what you all thought of me doing an alternate ending sort of thing. Like if I wrote out four different alternate endings and put them all out. Two of them leave me open for a third story, two of them do not. I really need some feedback on this as I'm trying to figure out what would please the majority of you. Of course, I can pick my own ending, but I have a feeling that the one I'm leaning towards would make for several (a lot) of you being disappointed (MAD). I like the thought having a 'choose your own destiny' thing for this story as we all get the best of four worlds, but would love some feedback on what you guys are feeling. I realize this chapter is kind of short but I wanted to follow up pretty quickly. Leave a review with your thoughts or send me a private message. Oh, and…LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER.


	23. Stranger Danger

When Jayde rolled over the next morning, her first thought was not about how Joker was 'recovering' or if he was already awake, but rather how empty and hungry her stomach was feeling. It growled angrily at her as she sat up, tying her impossibly frizzy hair up into a bun at the top of her head before climbing out of her bed. Wondering wildly what she ought to make for breakfast, Jayde decided against changing her clothes, realizing that she was really comfortable and warm in the pajamas she had slept in. So after brushing her teeth, she headed out onto the second story landing, only to stop at the railing, smirking.

Just below her, on the couch, still wearing his clothes and smeared makeup from the night before, lay the Joker, sprawled out and dead asleep on his back. At some point, his shoes had come off, now one of his brightly-colored socked feet rested on the far end of the couch, the other on the floor next to it. His hands nearly mimicked his feet, one rested lightly on his chest, the other dangled off of the edge with his fingers just barely gracing the carpet. It was times like this when Jayde really wished she had a camera.

As she walked down the stairs, Jayde thought back to the night before and the way he had come undone so thoroughly and could not help but feel rather proud and accomplished that she had made him feel so exhausted that he could not even make it up the stairs to his bed. She patted herself on the back mentally. Standing at the back of the couch now, Jayde looked down at him, only to let her eyes widen when she noticed that his pants were still unbuttoned and unzipped. He wasn't…_exposed _or anything, but Jayde was sure the other two roommates had heard some of the noises Joker was making the night before. So when they came out and saw him with his pants undone, they would certainly put two and two together…But then again, maybe she shouldn't care?…At least no one was awake yet…

Jayde jumped when a soft tapping noise met her ears a second later, and she whipped around, only to find Dotcom standing on the other side of the glass door, grinning stupidly at her as he framed his face with his hands, trying to see inside. She arched an eyebrow, grinning back until he beckoned her over, holding a finger to his lips to tell her silently to be quiet. It was obvious he wanted to keep the Joker asleep for as long as possible. As quietly as she could, Jayde slid open the glass door, stepping out lightly to close it behind her.

Dotcom glanced inside again as he slid his pack of cigarettes across the table to her. "I'm kinda surprised he's on the couch," he commented, arching an eyebrow at her. "I definitely would have expected you guys to be either in his room or yours. Did you fight or something?" Jayde snorted out smoke as she lit her cigarette and tried to hold in a laugh at the same time. Her eyes shifted over to his. "Oh, wait, no…You…" he was leaned forward slightly, staring at her as if trying to read her mind although Jayde's somewhat guilty grin was starting to give her away. "You guys had sex on the couch?" he nearly yelled a second later but quieted his voice immediately after, glancing inside to make sure Joker was still asleep. "That's so gross…I don't even wanna…"

"No, we didn't have sex there. I just kinda…ya know…did a little something for him…on the couch…" she stammered her way through a vague explanation, only to feel herself blushing when Dotcom gasped.

"Girl, _seriously?" _ he asked incredulously after a few seconds. He paused again but then nodded, a somewhat proud look on his face. "Good for you, baby. Then you just left him there?" When Jayde nodded guiltily, they both laughed loudly, glancing inside again after a few seconds; the neon green tip of Joker's sock was still visible at the end of the couch.

Once finished with their cigarettes, both of them stood up, stepping back inside as quietly as possible. Without speaking, Dotcom seemed to understand that Jayde was ready to wake him up and would like to be alone to do it, so he nodded understandingly, trotting up the carpeted stairs to disappear into his bedroom. With him gone, Jayde felt a little more comfortable walking over to kneel in front of the couch, tilting her head to the side as she watched his peaceful features, bereft of that scowl he usually slept with. He was not snoring nor growling but merely breathing, deeply and evenly, his head turned toward the cushions of the couch. However, the longer she sat there and watched him, the more she began to realize that it was still fairly early and that he had only gotten a couple hours of sleep before that night so as quietly as she could, Jayde stood up and went into the kitchen to start making breakfast for everyone.

After putting a pot of coffee on and locating some bacon, bread for toast and oranges, Jayde started putting things together, being infinitely careful not to make noise, although the smell of crackling bacon and coffee was really more of a wakeup call than if she were to take two pots and start banging them together. Luckily, Jayde's favorite mug was freshly washed in the dishwasher so after pulling it out, she poured a cup of brand new coffee and was about to reach up into the cabinet for the sugar when a warm body came up behind hers, two large, rough hands sliding onto her waist to pull her back only an inch until her back met his chest. Jayde jumped slightly at his touch; she had not even heard him approaching. She relaxed a moment later, grinning stupidly down at her cup of coffee as Joker took a deep, sleepy breath in with his chest against her back, reaching up into the cabinet for the box of sugar, only to bring it down to the counter in front of her. His chin rested on her shoulder.

"_You…_did something _naughty _to me last night…" he growled in that deep, raspy morning voice, watching his movements as he dipped a spoon into the sugar, only to bring out a spoonful to dump into Jayde's coffee and start stirring it for her from around either side of her body. She giggled, shying away from the new scratchy whiskers on his jaw as he purposefully tickled her.

"I think you liked it though…Is that why you slept on the couch?" she asked, turning to face him finally as he handed her the mug of coffee and rested his hands on the counter on either side of her. He looked sleepy and yet strangely adorable, if that word is even allowed to be used to describe the Joker.

"_No, _I slept on the couch because I couldn't _walk_." He answered honestly, grinning when Jayde giggled. "So yeah, I kinda liked it."

After several minutes of Joker doing nothing but purposefully getting in her way while she tried to cook, Jayde made him leave, insisting that he go take a shower and change his clothes while she finished. He had agreed reluctantly, walking toward the stairs, only to pause every few steps to turn and pout at her as if she had hurt his feelings by joking that he smelled bad. She grinned to herself once he had gone in his room, knowing how good he was about to smell when he came back down.

Surprisingly, over the next fifteen minutes, neither Dotcom nor Tre came to the kitchen, even though the smell of bacon and coffee was somewhat overwhelming at this point. Jayde was about to go ahead and eat a piece of toast as her stomach threatened to claw its way out of her body when she heard Joker's door open upstairs and a moment later, he emerged on the second story, trotting down the stairs wearing jeans and that thin, gray cotton hoodie sweatshirt of his. She looked over but back down at the counter as he approached, bringing with him that familiar scent and that alone made her grin. He had just walked over to her when she looked up, smiling.

"Wanna have breakfast with me?" she asked brightly, taking in everything about his clean, bare face as he stood in the sunlight. It felt like it had been a while since she had seen him like this and was suddenly reminded of their 'vacation' to Montana when she had gotten used to him without makeup on for nearly two weeks; he really was so handsome. He was smirking, letting his brown eyes bounce back and forth between hers, squinting slightly as he wondered if she would be mad if he said no and wasn't joking. At the moment, he just honestly wanted to be alone and it had absolutely nothing to do with Jayde, or anybody else for that matter. He wasn't _mad _or…_upset_, he just wanted to go and _think_ somewhere. Then again, Jayde was staring up at him so hopefully, her perfectly symmetrical, almond-shaped eyes practically begging him to say yes. A second later, Joker figured that he could spare fifteen minutes or so to sit there and blah blah blah, about this and that, just until her attention was drawn elsewhere and he could slip away.

"Sure." He agreed, following her over to the table, but paused when she instead walked to the glass door carrying both of their plates, a mug of coffee _and _a glass of orange juice. Joker was staring at her as she started setting everything down, not even spilling a drop of coffee in the process. "Wow, you uh-…sure know how to _carry _shit." He commented 'politely', smirking at her as she sat down, setting the glass of orange juice in front him.

"How kind of you to notice." She replied sarcastically, taking a sip of her coffee. "You think people in Gotham are freaking out right now?" she then asked, glancing over at him as he grunted a laugh.

"_Oh _yeah." He answered, nodding his head. "Gotham has a tendency to blow things way out of proportion and uh-…lose its mind collectively." He paused, shrugging his shoulders as he stared off into the back yard with narrowed eyes, munching slowly on a piece of toast. "…Pretty funny actually."

By the time they finished eating, Dotcom had come back downstairs and was inside helping himself to the coffee with a phone between his ear and shoulder when Joker turned to the window, knocking on it loudly. Jayde laughed when Dotcom jumped, dropping his phone as he looked over toward the glass doors, just in time for Joker to wave him over, turning back around to face the patio, trusting that his nerd was walking over. Dotcom rolled his eyes at Jayde behind his back as he approached, shaking his head when she grinned sympathetically.

"Yeah, Boss," he responded, stepping out halfway through a crack in the glass door. Joker glanced over but then frowned, motioning toward a chair at the table as though offended Dotcom wasn't planning on joining them.

"Ah, c'mon, have a seat, wont you?" Joker offered in a falsely bright, raspy voice. A second later, Jayde's lips tightened to fight off a grin when she noticed the '_so _not in the mood' expression on Dotcom's face as he walked around the edge of the table to plop down into a chair. She stood up the moment he sat down, picking up she and Joker's plates to take them inside, along with her empty mug. Luckily, she knew how Dotcom took his coffee so she made a note of it to finish pouring the cup that Joker had so rudely interrupted.

She returned to the table a few moments later, setting the steaming cup of black coffee in front of Dotcom who breathed a highly grateful 'thank you' as he picked it up and took a sip.

"Jayde, I'm having Dotcom go and stay in the city at your apartment tomorrow night so he can run a few errands for me." Joker told her frankly, squinting over at her as she sat down as if assessing how she would react to hearing a plan up-front for once. Jayde seemed to understand immediately that he was testing her and nodded, shrugging her shoulders. Joker smirked; he _really _liked how smart she was. A second later, she glanced over at Dotcom.

"Wait…" she looked back to Joker with her eyebrows raised. "Can I go with him?"

Joker seemed slightly stuck as he leaned forward, folding his arms on the table to glance from Jayde to Dotcom and back a few times, wondering if they _really_ had just asked him if they could have a 'girl's night' when Dotcom was supposed to be on official business. Then again, Dotcom was incredibly good at hiding his sexual preference and when Joker really thought about it, he probably loved her company more than anything because he could really be himself around her, not have to act a certain way or _be _a certain thing…Honestly, Joker understood where he was coming from on that.

"Fine." He finally said, his voice raspy and flat, squinting suspiciously when Jayde grinned.

Several minutes later, after Joker had dismissed Dotcom, he stood up, stretching his arms and back with a groan, immediately noticing that need to get away starting to creep up on him again. Jayde had stood up from the table a half-second after he had, apparently assuming that he was preparing to go inside and as she reached the glass door, she paused, turning to look back at him.

"Don't you wanna watch the news?" she asked, motioning inside with her head while Joker frowned, glancing at his watch. "C'mon, its almost ten. I wanna see what they're saying."

As Joker followed her to the couch, he could not help but feel slightly ashamed of himself for not being totally obsessed with what the news was saying. He could safely assume that everyone in Gotham was losing their minds and that all the reporters could possibly have to say was 'don't drink the water'. Officials had probably set up some emergency water supply, and the lines at the stores rumored to have untainted water were probably blocks long. All Joker wanted to do was be alone and do some serious thinking about his plans and about the last couple of days, things he could have done differently. Unfortunately, Jayde seemed hell-bent on keeping him near her. He had to slip away.

She switched on the tv once he had sat down next to her, the image coming into view immediately, showing a long line of anxious people outside a convenience store he recognized on 68th. A small snort of a laugh escaped through his nose as he folded his hands over his stomach; maybe he _did _want to see this a little.

_"City officials urge residents to keep their water shut off over the next few days until testing can be completed. This includes washing clothes and dishes. Emergency water supplies have been brought in from outside the city and a list of relief stations can be found online at 'Gotham News 9 dot com." _

"Hey! They said your name!" Joker suddenly exclaimed at Dotcom on the other side of the couch, pointing at the tv in mock excitement. A second later, he squinted with a glare when Dotcom fought hard not to roll his eyes.

"_Sources have confirmed that the contamination in the water is in fact blood, although it has not been determined yet if it is human or animal." _

At this, both Jayde and Dotcom turned to look at Joker curiously, who glanced back and forth between them a few times before he shrugged. "It's a healthy mix of both…plus a little _detective,_ but she doesn't count as either."

"_Again, the Gotham police department is urging everyone to stay in their homes at night, take a friend if you have to go somewhere after dark and any sightings of the Joker or any of the people working with him need to be reported immediately. No one in Gotham needs reminding, but the police are asking residents to remember that The Joker is to be considered heavily armed and very dangerous."_

Joker let out a highly audible, satisfied sigh as he leaned back, reaching up to fold his arms across his chest, crossing his ankles on the coffee table in front of the couch. "_That_ never gets old."

Over the next ten minutes, it began to grow obvious that the news didn't really have much else to say, other than what the three of them had just heard and merely repeated itself over and over with the same information, only worded differently. It seemed that Joker had predicted this sort of thing and was now reaching forward to shut it off and turn his head to peer down at Jayde. His mouth opened as if he were about to say something but he closed it again a second later, his forehead wrinkling slightly in his scowl.

"Come with me." he then suddenly went on to say, grabbing her wrist to pull her up from the couch, leading her over toward the glass doors. Immediately, Jayde thought of about three or four different questions to ask him but she had a strong feeling that this would only irritate him and it was clear he was about to show her where he was taking her, so she kept her mouth shut and resigned to silence, following him obediently.

At first, Jayde paused at the table on the patio, but stumbled a bit when Joker pulled her past it and over to the screen door, unhinging the latch to let them out into the vast stretch of grass and trees behind the house. The grass was somewhat cold and wet with mid-morning dew and Jayde wrinkled her nose slightly at the slimy feeling of it under her bare feet.

"You know I'm not wearing shoes, right?" she asked crossly, partially annoyed with the fact that the bottoms of her over-long pajama pants were getting soaked now. Joker shrugged from a step ahead of her, glancing both ways as they walked out into the taller grass.

"I'm not either." He answered, still pulling her along by the hand as they made it to the tree line, tightening his grip every time she tried to pull her hand away. Jayde groaned.

"Yeah, but you're wearing socks!" she cried, now trotting as lightly as possible through the dirt and fallen branches and leaves, picturing herself stepping on a snake any second now. Joker's strides lengthened as if he knew how hard she was struggling to keep up with him through the trees. "I'm making you carry me when we go-…" she had just reached the end of her patience and was about to really start bitching when Joker suddenly stopped, just as the trees had opened up on the other side, revealing a wide, vast expanse of hilly, green land, dotted here and there with white dandelions. A breeze blew past them at the perfect moment, rippling the tall grass across the field. "Wow…" she breathed.

Beside her, Joker had just taken a deep breath only to exhale heavily a moment later, his shoulders relaxing as his hands slid into his pockets. "I'm not really one for silence," he began, glancing up at the bright blue sky over head. "But when I need it, this is where I go."

Several feet from them, Jayde noticed a brown wicker bench, tucked against the line of trees, right where the field began; she wondered if Joker had put it there for those times when he needed to get away from things and clear his head. He must have noticed her looking at it as a second later, he turned and walked toward it, pulling his hands from his pockets to sit on the left side, looking back over to Jayde as he patted the space next to him. Her scar twitched slightly in a tiny, pleased smirk, clearly trying to hide the fact that she was relieved he had invited her to sit with him.

At first, Jayde sat on the other end, leaving a foot of space between them, unsure of whether it would be pushing her luck to lean against him so quickly. A second later, he seemed to have noticed her mental debate and brought his arm up, resting it along the back of the bench, exposing the comfortable looking curve of his side as he slouched. Again, she took this as an invitation and scooted along the wood toward him, turning slightly to rest her back against his side with the back of her head against his shoulder. A warm, content sensation spread through her from her head to her toes when Joker's arm moved from the back of the bench to rest across her chest, gripping her shoulder.

A slow, steady sigh moved Jayde slightly when Joker's chest rose and fell behind her. It was obvious that he was finally at ease, as he had seemed a little on edge that morning after his shower. Jayde had recognized it as the mood he fell into when he wanted her to leave him alone, but she had fought through it, knowing that he had come to respect her enough not to flat out tell her to fuck off. Luckily, Joker could not see the huge goofy smile that spread across her face when his cheek rested against her curls.

Joker closed his eyes, relishing in the near silence, blocking out the sound of the random chirping of birds and crickets from behind them in the trees. Finally, he could let his mind wander as far and wide as he wanted and it was fortunate that Jayde was staying quiet for him. Clearly, she was perfectly content to just sit there comfortably, admiring the peacefulness with him, and for that, Joker could never express how much it meant to him…Literally, he had no idea how to say it. Perhaps she had grown to understand him so well at this point that she knew he wanted quiet and had only brought her along so he wouldn't have to risk hurting her feelings and having to deal with her attitude later. His eyebrows started to tighten and furrow when he realized how uncommonly _perfect_ that was. Normally, the thought of someone truly understanding him made him feel vulnerable and weak, _not _in control…but with Jayde, it felt different. Honestly, he was relieved that they had made it to the stage of friendship where they could sit together in one place for an extended period of time, not say a word and yet feel completely comfortable in each other's presence. He sighed again, smirking to himself against her hair. He had finally found himself another Tre.

The following afternoon, Jayde had just finished packing one of the small black duffle bags with a set of pajamas and clean clothes, along with her toothbrush and other toiletries when Joker appeared in her doorway, scowling with his arms crossed. He leaned against the frame when Jayde glanced over, only to smirk and go back to what she was doing, waiting for him to say something first. A moment later, he cleared his throat, stepping into the room to sit on the end of her bed Indian-style, resting his chin in his hand and his elbow on his knee.

"So what's the _real _reason you're going with him…" he asked in a growl, arching an eyebrow when Jayde sighed exasperatedly.

"I _told _you…" she paused, closing the zipper on the bag. "I left a couple of things there that I want to get." It seemed he was prepared for this answer.

"Like what?" Joker asked a split second later, raising both of his eyebrows as she glanced at him, only to look away again quickly.

"You know, like…a couple pairs of shoes, my straightener…" The more she talked, the smaller Joker's eyes grew until she just barely see the amber brown color there. She sighed, tossing her hands slightly when he remained completely unconvinced. "I just wanted to…_hang out_ with him. I feel like I never really get to be around him when he gets to act all…gay." She paused to laugh, watching Joker's face for any sign of a grin, but he remained passive, his expression flat and somewhat bored. She went on, shaking her head. "I hate to tell you this, but he's a friend to me now. He might just be your 'employee," her fingers made quote signs in the air. "…but he's _my _friend. And it's nice to hang around him when he gets to be himself." Finally, she abandoned all pretense and climbed onto the bed toward him, resting her hands on his knees to lean forward and kiss him lightly on the cheek. "I'm _sure_ you understand…"

She pulled back from his cheek only to quickly catch his lips before he could ask another question or say something else and at first, he responded, kissing her gently in return, but it was not long before he grunted, pulling away.

"You two are not to go _anywhere _else, you understand me? You don't leave that apartment unless I say-…" he said, but Jayde cut him off, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to catch his lips again. At first he growled, but eventually responded again, dropping his hands to frame her ribcage as she inched her way into his lap. A lock of his hair had just twisted around her finger when she pulled away, leaving him with one last quick peck on the lips.

"All we wanna do is watch a couple girl movies, cook some amazing food and talk…preferably over glasses of wine…outside on my patio…" she explained to him, but laughed when Joker groaned, rolling his eyes as he fell back onto the bed in exasperation.

An hour later, Jayde was practically skipping down the steps with her bag in hand, trying really hard not to giggle when she noticed Dotcom looking gayer than _ever_ in a pair of white slacks and a black polo, his hips cocked to one side as he looked down at his phone. He must have heard her approaching as he turned to look over a second later, immediately grinning excitedly. That former grin slid quickly from view when Jayde noticed his eyes flicker up to where Joker was trotting down the stairs and he cleared his throat, pointing at her bag.

"All ready to go?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, but did not wait for her response. "Wonderful." He breathed, bending down to grab her bag and make a quick exit through the garage door, out to the waiting Escalade. Jayde rolled her eyes as Joker walked up beside her, scowling after Dotcom until she spoke.

"He still thinks you don't know he's gay." She explained, casting him a look of contempt, only to shake her head when Joker nodded, raising his eyebrows.

"I know. I like it that way. _Don't tell him._"

Jayde felt her heart sink slightly a second later when she heard the glass door slide open and Tre stepped inside, ruining all hope of her getting a proper goodbye from Joker. He seemed to notice the disappointment in her eyes as he smirked somewhat sympathetically down at her, reaching up to tuck a bit of her hair behind her ear.

"Don't do anything stupid, ya hear me?" he asked quietly, leaning down slightly to get a good long look at her eyes as he raised his eyebrows. Jayde rolled her eyes but in the process noticed that Tre had chosen to sit down on the fourth to bottom stair just across from them, watching shamelessly as if studying his best friend for a project; either Joker did not notice or did not care. A second later, he leaned down a tiny bit further, pressing his lips to hers, though only for a moment or two before he pulled away and nodded at the garage door.

"Now go, before your faggot has a heart attack."

Finally, Jayde walked to the door as Joker slid his hands into his pockets, watching her go until she had disappeared beyond it. Two comedic seconds went by before Tre piped up from the stairs, "_Don't do anything stupid, ya hear me?"_ Joker spun, frowning at him. "Man, you got it _bad_ for that girl!"

"Hey!" he barked, turning to walk into the kitchen. "That kinda sappy shit makes her happy." He went on to explain, reaching up into the cabinet for a glass. "And Jayde happy means I get head on the couch…which makes _me _happy…" Joker looked up from filling his glass with water out of the fridge, nodding his head with a slight frown. "I'm sure you see my logic."

"Welcome to being in a relationship, bro." Tre replied after a pause, leaning back against the stair behind him, only to laugh when Joker stopped mid-sip, turning slowly to set the glass of water down on the counter beside him.

"_What?"_ he asked, his voice gravely and clowny as he glared at Tre for an explanation.

"Yeah, you sacrifice to make her happy 'cause it makes _you_ happy. That's called being in relationship, Ki." Tre smirked, holding up a fist. "You _finally _made it, bro. Con-_grats."_ He then added sarcastically. Joker cringed, wiping his hands on his shirt as if there was something nasty on them.

"_Gross_…"

After a short ride into Gotham, full of girly conversation and laughter, Jayde and Dotcom now found themselves stepping into her old apartment, immediately setting their bags down at the door. Even though she had not been there since she and Joker had kidnapped the detective, there was something so relaxing and comforting about being there. This had and always would be her safe-haven. Dotcom was making himself feel right at home by walking across her living room to the double balcony doors, throwing back the drapes to let the late afternoon sunlight in. He took a deep breath in, only to sigh as he turned around, placing his hands on his hips.

"Feels _so _good to be away from there." He commented, stepping over to the couch to drop down onto it, tucking one of his ankles underneath his other leg. "I almost kissed him when he told me I had to stay here overnight." Jayde laughed out loud from the kitchen as she imagined the expression that would have formed on Joker's face if Dotcom had up and kissed him on the mouth.

"I'm sure," she answered, walking over to join him. "That's why I asked if I could come with you! I wanted to just hang out, and I'm sure he needed some time away from me too." Jayde frowned when Dotcom arched an eyebrow.

"You think so?" he asked, but then shook his head. "I dunno, he seemed a little reluctant to let you come with me. He talked to me this morning and made sure I understood that my life was at stake if I let anything happen to you. I think he's a little protective lately." He paused, shrugging. "But that's a good thing, at least he's learning to show that he actually _does _give a fuck…even if he _does _threaten my life in doing so…"

After running through a whole list of possibilities, Jayde and Dotcom finally decided on mussels and pasta with white wine sauce and a cherry clafoutis for dessert and were currently stepping back into her apartment after a quick run to the grocers across the street. Normally, Jayde would never have attempted a meal of this caliber on her own, but since she had never really gotten to watch Dotcom do what he truly did best, she was really excited to watch and learn. As he dumped out the mussels into a colander to clean them, Jayde hopped up onto the counter next to the sink.

"So, _Andrew…_" she began, peering at him interestedly. "It feels weird calling you that." He laughed, rolling his eyes.

"It feels weird being _called _that, trust me. I almost forgot that's what it was." he answered, but Jayde's brain was already onto something else and she was currently fighting herself on how to ask.

"What are you doing for Joker tomorrow?" she asked, hoping the abruptness of her question would startle him into an answer.

"He told me not to-…"

"_Pleeeease, _Dotcom? I _swear _I wont tell him you told me!" she nearly begged, poking her bottom lip out as he sighed, reaching up to push his glasses up his nose with the knuckle of his pinky.

"You swear?" When Jayde nodded hastily, he rolled his eyes. "He wants me to go and meet with this guy about getting a job at a restaurant on 43rd…" Dotcom paused, glancing up at her from the mussel he was de-bearding. "He's planning on giving everyone severe food poisoning so he can back up the hospitals." At this, Jayde's eyebrows arched in a confused frown.

"But I thought he said he was doing the-…" she went to say but Dotcom shook his head gravely.

"He was going to but I think he realized some of the plagues were kinda impossible…you know with all the frogs and locusts n' stuff…So he's made up his _own _plagues and…well, they're definitely more intense than the ones in the Bible, that's for sure…"

By now, Dotcom had finally finished picking out all the little fibers that clung to the mussels and had just reached out to turn on the water to rinse them, only for both of them to cringe when nothing but brownish, blood-polluted water poured from the faucet. They looked to each other in disbelief before cursing simultaneously, "Shit!"

So after a half hour of calling through nearly every take-out place in Gotham, getting shut down by almost every single one, claiming that their water was still bad and could not serve food, they _finally _found one that had somehow managed to bring in clean water from another city. But then, seeing as to how this was one of the few places that was open for business, the wait time on their delivery was quoted at an hour and a half. But luckily, even though the rest of the food they had bought was useless, the white wine, however, was not, so after setting the bottle in the freezer to chill, they stepped out onto her balcony for a cigarette.

Two hours and a half of a bottle of wine later, their Chinese finally arrived, along with the gallon of clean water Dotcom had bribed the man to bring for a crisp fifty dollar bill. Jayde had laughed at him when he bargained with the man on the phone and was laughing now as he took it into the kitchen, shaking his head as he went.

"I cannot go to a job interview without brushing my teeth, girl…"

The food was mediocre but at that point, both of them were pretty hungry and the company made it better, so after eating, they set the dishes in the sink to rinse sparingly later with their limited supply of water. They had just decided on a chick flick when Dotcom's phone started ringing over on the kitchen counter. With a gay little squeal, Dotcom took off toward it at a trot.

"Oooh, I've been talking to this guy I met and-…" he was saying as he reached the phone but stopped when he glanced at the caller ID. His eyes rolled as he tossed the phone at Jayde. She caught it, grinning when she saw that 'Boss' was calling. She pressed the green button, holding it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"What are you wearing…?" came Joker's raspy voice through the other end. "Oh, wait…is this Jayde?" She laughed, leaning back in her couch to roll her eyes at Dotcom. "_Hi, Jayde…"_ he then growled.

"Hi," she answered, trying unsuccessfully not to grin as she fidgeted with a stray denim fiber on her jeans.

"How is…'ladies night' going? Is it as…gay as you could have ever dreamed?"

"Yeah, except when we went to make dinner and turned on the water and blood came out." she answered, grinning when Joker burst out laughing in that genuine laugh of his and she could just picture him doubling slightly as his nose wrinkled.

"Oh, that's just _wonderful, _really great." He went on, laughing. "Look, I need to talk to Dotcom, can ya put him on for me, sugar?"

"Sure, hold on."

"Thanks, you're a _doll_…"

Jayde handed over the phone to Dotcom, who placed it between his ear and shoulder to carry their empty wine glasses into the kitchen and set them in the sink. "Uh-huh?…Yeah, well I was going to do that anyway-…Right, I'll just say I'm looking for Albert…Right…Right…Ok…Ok, I'll tell her." With that, Dotcom hung up, setting the phone down on the counter as he walked back over to the couch, flipping off the light as he went. "He asked me to tell you goodnight…" Jayde grinned. "-And that he's planning on falling asleep in your bed with his hand in warm water." Her grin disappeared completely as she rolled her eyes and Dotcom laughed.

After the movie and after brushing their teeth with some of the clean water from the gallon jug, they were both crawling into her bed, yawning deeply as Dotcom set an alarm for seven in the morning.

"I wonder if Joker would be mad if he found out I was sleeping with another guy." She commented sleepily, grinning when Dotcom laughed, turning off the lamp on his side of her king bed.

"It is so not even like that, girl." He answered, turning onto his side facing away from her, taking a deep breath as he yawned again. "But yeah, I'm pretty sure he would be a little mad if he found that out."

For some reason, Jayde found this thought the slightest bit comforting and for only a second, she let her mind wander back to the mansion and miss him, just for a moment or two as she tried to imagine what he was doing. She wondered if he too was thinking about her at that very second. And with that thought floating around her mind, she drifted off to sleep, smirking contentedly to herself.

It seemed that after only five minutes of restful sleep, Jayde was being woken by the feeling of the bed moving and at first, upon opening her eyes, it took her a few moments to realize where she was, but once she had, she noticed Dotcom stumbling blindly around the end of the bed toward her bathroom where he had left his glasses. Jayde groaned, squeezing her eyes shut against the sunlight pouring into the room.

"What are you doing?" she asked sleepily, turning onto her side to face the far wall and get comfortable again.

"I gotta go meet that guy before the restaurant opens. Apparently their prep for brunch service is pretty intense so they handle all the interviews n' stuff early. Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when I get back so we can go home. Boss-…Joker said to come straight back when I'm done."

When Dotcom was waking her up again an hour later, Jayde could just vaguely remember waving her hand at him as he left, telling him good luck through the thick haze of overpowering sleepiness, but apparently, she had sounded pretty funny and was now pouting groggily as she stumbled into the bathroom while he laughed at her.

"Whatever," she grumbled, smirking to herself as she applied toothpaste to her toothbrush. "Let's just hurry and get home so I can go back to sleep." She then said, thinking to herself how lucky she would be if Joker was not awake yet when they got back to the house; truly nothing made her feel more girly and stupid than watching him wake up in the morning. Then again, the longer she thought about it, the more she realized that Joker had probably already been up for an hour or so, probably already talked to Dotcom for updates on what was happening. She sighed, trying not to roll her eyes as she picked up her bag and followed Dotcom to the door to lock it behind them after making sure everything was off.

Luckily, the hallway was clear so they proceeded down it and into the stairwell, down the stairs and out into the garage. It was fortunate that it was still fairly early on a Saturday morning, meaning most of her building was probably still asleep and Jayde was just about to comment on this when she heard her name called.

"Jayde? Is that you, honey?"

Immediately, Jayde's hand reached out for Dotcom's to pull him around to stand next to her, keeping their hands linked together. "Hi!" she returned the friendly greeting, taking a few steps forward toward the woman and her dog. The tiny rat-looking thing bounded up, straining against it's leash as Ms. McCarthy trotted over after it, smiling broadly.

"I haven't seen you in ages, dear! How are you? Who is this?" she demanded all of these questions at once, glancing from Jayde to Dotcom and back once or twice excitedly.

"Oh, this is my boyfriend, Andrew. Andrew this is Ms. McCarthy, she lives next door to me." Jayde introduced them as naturally as she could, smiling warmly as Dotcom extended his hand cordially.

"It's a pleasure!" he said enthusiastically, taking back his hand from the woman's to place it between Jayde's shoulder blades.

"Yeah, we're just heading out to his parent's house. They live in the next city and have clean water so we're going to stay with them until they figure this whole mess out with the blood."

Lying was becoming far too easy.

A few minutes later, Dotcom and Jayde managed to get away and were now laughing as they pulled out of the parking garage in the Escalade. "I'm telling you, that woman is so gullible. Either that, or just really dumb." Jayde commented, shaking her head as Dotcom laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Anyone that looks at you and I together and thinks we're boyfriend and girlfriend has _got _to be retarded or something. I mean if I don't scream 'fabulous', I'm doing something wrong." Dotcom replied and both burst out laughing a second later.

Two full conversations later, Jayde was starting grow excited as they approached the entrance to the long gravel driveway and could feel miniature butterflies start to flutter around inside of her. She wanted to feel ashamed at herself for being so blatantly anxious to see him when it had only been one night away but there was no point in trying to feel an emotion that wasn't there; fuck it, she missed him. With the Escalade now pulled safely into the garage with the door closing behind them, Jayde and Dotcom jumped out, grabbing their bags to head inside. The door leading from garage to the house squeaked lightly like it always did, but the moment the two of them had stepped inside, they both stopped, mouths ajar at what they saw.

Over at the far side of the kitchen, stood a girl with her back to them, opening a cabinet, her head tilted back as she searched for something. She swayed slightly when she dropped down from being up on her toes but instantly went on to the next cabinet, opening it wide to keep looking. She rose onto her tip toes again, raising the bottom of the familiar, white, men's Oxford dress shirt she was wearing high enough to show the bottoms of her ass cheeks and a pair of hot pink underwear. Jayde felt a wave of sickening anger and hurt flow over her when the girl turned to face them, giggling girlishly. Dotcom seemed to notice that Jayde had seemingly locked up in shock so he put his arm around her.

"Um…Who are you?" he asked rudely, but as the girl giggled with a slight hiccup, he rolled his eyes. She was still drunk and apparently high.

"Can I get some water?"

As Dotcom walked toward the blonde, Jayde took a step over toward the bathroom, feeling dizzy and sick and she was just about to rush in and quickly splash water on her face to try and wake herself up from this nightmare when she noticed a long, lean shadow up on the second story landing. She turned, her eyes narrowing onto the Joker as he stood leaned against the wall, looking sleepy yet comfortable in his long cotton pajama pants and he folded his arms over his bare chest. Even from where she was standing, Jayde could see the malicious smirk on his face and tears immediately began to well up in her eyes. Through her increasingly cloudy vision, she could clearly see Joker take a step or two forward, leaning his hands on the railing to glare down at her, lowering his head to peer at her from under the ridge of his eyebrows. Jayde tried to move or even start screaming at him, but found herself practically paralyzed on the spot. One of Joker's hands disappeared, only to reemerge a moment later as he leaned down further, resting his forearms on the railing…a small, black handgun dangled from his middle finger.

QUIT SLACKIN' ON THOSE REVIEWS! No new chapter until I got _at least_ five on this one!

LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER!

-QoM


	24. Fun n Games

Jayde stared up at the Joker in disbelief, hardly even allowing herself to realize that her worst, latest dream had come to life and now the girl wearing the Joker's shirt was walking past her toward the stairs, glancing back at her over her shoulder and around that straight curtain of long blonde hair. Up on the second story, Joker stood up from leaned on the railing, straightening his shoulders out. But just when it appeared as though the blonde was going to walk up the stairs, she seemed to suddenly remember where she was supposed to be going and instead walked past them, over to Tre's door to open it and slip inside, closing it behind her as she went. Jayde's jaw fell open as she looked to the top of the stairs where Joker was now trotting down toward her, chuckling, tucking that gun into the back of his pajama pants.

"You fucking asshole!" she screamed, running up the bottom half of the stairs to meet him halfway and start swinging on him, slapping him hard on the arms and chest as he laughed, ducking around her to jump from the third step to the floor. Jayde watched him go, and although part of her wanted to be mad at him, too much of her was relieved that she and Dotcom had stumbled upon Tre's guest and not Joker's. To keep from grinning, Jayde stuck her bottom lip out, walking over to the couch to plop down onto it and fold her arms childishly. "I thought she was here with you." Joker laughed from over in the kitchen, tossing his head slightly as he pushed Dotcom out of his way by the sink for some water.

"I _know_! What on _earth_ made you think that?" he asked sarcastically, walking over to join her on the couch, sitting down just next to her although Jayde moved over as soon as he did, putting a half-foot of distance between them. She shrugged, glancing off in the other direction as she tried to be 'mad' at him.

"I dunno, it looked like she was wearing your shirt and…" she paused, finally turning her head to look up at him with a shrug. "And I've always kinda thought that you might have a thing for blondes." Joker laughed, leaning forward to look closely at her.

"Really…" he asked flatly, raising his arm to the back of the couch behind her shoulders. "And here _I _ was, under the impression that _you _had a thing for blondes…" Finally, Jayde turned her head to look at him, the corners of her lips twitching as the effort not to grin became too much. Joker went on, turning slightly to bring his knee up onto the couch. "Tre asked me last night if I wanted to go out. _Obviously_, I cant since I'm so _popular _lately. But I told him I didn't have a problem with it if he wanted to go." He took a deep breath, rolling his eyes as he rocked his head from side to side, recounting the evening to Jayde. "_Aaand _ at about one this morning, he calls me, asking if I cared if he brought a girl home. I said no." His hand then motioned to Tre's door before he rolled his eyes. "And _that's _what he came home with. I just wanted to see what she looked like, that's why I was up there when you walked in." Jayde shook her head with a frown, looking up at him as she inched a little closer to his side, finally calming down enough now to remember that she had been excited to see him, before she had been forced to prepare herself to kill him.

"And you had the gun because…" she began, shaking her head slowly as she waited for him to explain.

"I wanted to see what you'd do." He answered simply, shrugging his shoulders as though he was seeing no problem in the 'prank' he had just pulled. He leaned forward a second later, letting his gaze drop from her eyes to her lips. "Your face was _priceless…_" he then growled, finally closing the distance to press his lips against hers. Jayde sighed against his mouth, hoping Joker would not feel the goosebumps that had risen all over her skin when he brought his arm from the couch behind her to wrap around her shoulders and pull her closer, just as he started to lean back.

Jayde could not help herself but giggle against his lips as he lay down on his back along the couch, mid-kiss, pulling her with him so she lay on top of him but to the side, her back rested against the cushions of the couch with her hips and knees between his legs. A second later, Joker pulled away, sighing contentedly as she got comfortable atop him, resting her forehead against the curve of his neck to let her fingernail trace patterns across his bare chest. Either she was tickling him or Joker was not in the mood for being petted, but his hand came up after only a moment, pressing against hers and his eyes opened, admiring the contrast in sizes and softness. Hers was so delicate and small, her fingers somewhat short but thin, symmetrical. The skin on her palms was as soft as a baby's, comparing rather sharply to Joker's, lined with rough calluses, dotted and streaked in some places with scars, some fairly old, some newer. After a moment or two, Joker linked his fingers with hers.

"Did you have a good time last night?" he asked in a quiet voice, unknowingly spreading a grin across Jayde's face with his genuine question. She nodded against his chest, closing her eyes to take a deep breath in, exhaling in residual relief a moment later.

"Yeah, I did." She answered, wanting nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and squeeze, thank him for being loyal to her, even though he didn't technically have to. He was not her boyfriend, nor she, his girlfriend and Jayde understood that perfectly…but that did not necessarily mean that they couldn't pretend from time to time…

Just then, Joker tilted his head up to look back over the edge of the couch only to groan when both he and Jayde spotted Dotcom standing at the entrance to the kitchen, a doe-eyed, wistful expression on his face as he watched them be cute together. Jayde laughed as Joker growled irritably, pressing his thumb and pointer finger into his eyes as Dotcom jumped slightly.

"I'm sorry! You guys are just…You two just…" he stammered for several seconds before he tossed his hands in a loss for words. "It's just nice to see you a little bit happy and not fucking pissed _all the time! _So yes, its _cute_, what you two have, and I approve. " he eventually said with finality, swallowing hard as he glanced at Jayde with a somewhat nervous yet accomplished expression. Joker was nodding, rolling his eyes as he scowled.

"Oh, _wonderful._ As long as _you _approve…" he growled sarcastically, glancing down at Jayde, only to grunt when she sat up, using her hands on his stomach to push herself to a standing position. "And just where the hell do you think _you're_ going?" She turned back to him, bouncing her eyebrows.

"For a cigarette!" she answered brightly, only to trot off after Dotcom toward the glass doors, glancing playfully over her shoulder back at the couch where Joker was now sitting up, looking somewhat rejected.

The glass door closed behind Jayde and although Joker was partially tempted to follow, a freezing cold glass of orange juice was calling his name from the kitchen, so he stood up, going to retrieve it. He had just made it into the kitchen when he heard Tre's door open, then shut again a second later and an evil smirk slid onto his face as he imagined turning to shout 'BOO' at Tre's late night gal-pal. However, a moment later, Joker glanced over his shoulder, only to groan disappointedly with a roll of his eyes when he noticed that it was only Tre, looking incredibly hung over. Figuring that it was high time he dished out some of that world famous shit-talking that Tre had gotten so good at lately, Joker turned, folding his arms to lean against the counter.

"_So," _he started brightly, but frowned when Tre shook his head, cringing.

"No, man. Don't start. Too early." He grunted, reaching up for a glass out of the cabinet as Joker laughed, holding up his hands innocently.

"What do you mean, Terrell? I was about to comment on what a _lovely _young lady she is! What is she…sixteen…seventeen…" Joker started the mocking without hesitation, snarling a grin at his friend as he shook his head, looking rather nauseas.

"Twenty, bro." He eventually answered.

"_Twenty!_" Joker exclaimed in mock surprise. "Now _that's _a catch…" Finally, Tre turned to face him, trying to force his eyes open wider.

"Man, you better get outta sight before she comes out here, I don't wanna have her see who my crazy fucking roommate is…"

"Terrell?" came a soft, girly voice from around the corner of the kitchen; Tre's eyebrows raised as Joker's did the same.

"_Terrell?"_ Joker mimicked her voice quietly, walking backwards toward the other end of the kitchen, rather reluctant to leave as he was thoroughly enjoying the shit he was giving his friend.

"Man, _go!" _ Tre exclaimed in a hoarse whisper, waving him away just before the blonde rounded the corner. With a laugh, Joker ducked out of the kitchen and headed toward the stairs, shaking his head when he heard Tre greet his guest with a traditional, black-guy, 'Ay, girl.'

Jayde looked up and to the side when the glass door opened behind her, only to find that the blonde girl from earlier was stepping out onto the patio, smiling somewhat sheepishly at them. Jayde glanced over to Dotcom who had one eyebrow raised as he glanced her up and down judgmentally, like any good gay man would. Luckily, the girl had switched Tre's shirt for the skirt and top she had worn last night and was now looking nervous as she stepped out.

"Hey…" she began, glancing back and forth between them. "I just wanted to say hi. I was still a little drunk earlier when you guys found me going through your cabinets." The girl managed a laugh although it could not have been more clear that she wasn't thrilled about the way her morning had played out.

A heavy moment of silence passed by wherein Jayde and Dotcom both tried to decide quickly if they should give her the time of day. The girl seemed ready to give up and go back inside when Jayde finally spoke up, forcing herself to remember firmly that this was _not _someone that Joker had brought home…this was _Tre's _plaything and she should be nice.

"Hi," she said, just as the girl was turning to go back inside. "I'm Jayde and that's Andrew." Jayde glanced across the table to Dotcom who seemed to have finally relaxed his eyebrow. "Do you want a cigarette?" she asked, reaching out to Dotcom's pack of smokes before he could take them off of the table. The girl shrugged, a somewhat relieved smile spreading across her face.

"Sure."

So once Jayde had passed the girl a cigarette and the lighter, she tried not to watch as she leaned back, igniting it to take a deep breath. Honestly, she was very pretty, with big, round brown eyes and thin yet nicely shaped lips. It was clear she was young but how young, Jayde couldn't tell yet. The apparently dark makeup she had been wearing the night before was now smeared and runny looking…Jayde tried not to giggle when she imagined the sort of night this girl had experienced with Tre.

"I'm Sarah, by the way. I uh-…met Terrell at Club Skye last night. He says you two are his roommates?" she asked, raising both of her bare feet to rest them on a leg of the table. Dotcom was quiet so Jayde nodded, glancing over. "He said you're his best friend's girlfriend." A loud, surprised cough escaped Jayde as she choked on the smoke in her lungs, fanning it away from her face quickly.

"Uh…" she began, unsure of really how much she should explain it. She wanted to say no, but if Tre had already told the girl... "Yeah…I am." Her eyes glanced over at Dotcom's quickly only to look away a second later when she noticed him grinning in that certain knowing way.

Once the cigarettes had been put out, Jayde, Dotcom and their new 'friend' Sarah all traipsed back inside, suddenly feeling rather awkward about what they should say or do. It felt somewhat surreal to have another girl in the house and Jayde wasn't really sure if she liked it yet or not. Part of her sincerely wanted Joker to come downstairs, purely to somewhat show off the fact that her '_boyfriend'_ just so happened to be Gotham's number one most wanted, but she knew that it was really for the best that he stay out of sight…unless Tre planned on having his 'friend' killed.

However, Sarah had disappeared back into Tre's room, leaving Dotcom in the kitchen, talking to himself about what to make for breakfast, thinking that Jayde was listening, although she was already halfway up the stairs, her eyes trained on the closed door to Joker's office. There was every chance that he was busy, but lately he had fallen into a good habit of being able to entertain her with his attention while still getting his 'work' done. If only he could keep that up…

Her knuckles came into contact with the white wood of his door lightly, knocking twice before she took a half-step forward, straining her ears for noises from within the room. A second later, she jumped slightly when Joker's voice barked out loudly.

"WHAT?"

Jayde grinned to herself; it had been a while since she heard him use that snappy answer of his.

"Can I come in?" she asked, her voice quiet as she leaned toward the door, glancing over her shoulder to be certain the blonde was not lurking about downstairs. It seemed from the distance in his voice, that Joker was at the far end of his long office, but even from there, Jayde could hear the exasperated sigh he let out.

"_Fine…"_ he finally growled, so Jayde reached out, twisting the handle to open it, only to step inside and close it behind her. Sure enough, her eyes spotted him sitting on the far end of the room, hunched slightly as he sat at his table of chemicals, scowling down at something in a petri dish. As she walked over, Joker glanced up but went back to what he was doing a moment later. His eyebrows raised as he reached out to take a clean syringe from a box across from him and uncap it. "Did you meet the lovely lady of the night?" he asked, his voice bouncy and clowny.

"Yeah, I did." She answered, taking a step away from him to roll over his computer chair. "She's actually pretty nice." Joker tsk-ed, finally looking up from what he was doing to scowl at her reproachfully.

"See? And you were about to rip her throat out earlier…" he mocked, smirking back down at the Petri dish as Jayde rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing anyways?" she asked, peering interestedly at the clear liquid he was now drawing into the syringe, flicking it a few times with his fingernail to tap the air bubbles out. He took in a deep, bored-sounding breath before exhaling.

"Well, if I did this right, I should have made a toxin that mimics E. Coli…with some _very _nasty side effects…" he looked to Jayde, raising his eyebrows. "I need a guinea pig…?" he then half-asked hopefully. Jayde shook her head, rolling backwards in the chair to put a foot of protective distance between them. His shoulders slumped as he rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He spat, rising immediately from his chair to march over toward the door, capped, loaded syringe in hand. At first, Jayde watched him go, thinking that she had just pissed him off by refusing to let him poison her, but something about the determination in his gait made her call out after him.

"Where are you going?" she asked, shaking her head with a confused frown as he stopped at the door, turning briskly to raise his eyebrows at her. A second later, a crazy grin spread across his face.

"To find me a _guinea pig."_

Jayde let one fraction of a second pass after he had disappeared before she jumped up, racing across the room to follow him out into the hallway where he was now striding toward the top of the stairs. "Joker!" she called after him in a hoarse, urgent whisper when she noticed that both Tre and Sarah had just come out of his room and were chatting quietly, grinning at each other. Joker feigned deafness as he trotted casually down toward them, bringing the syringe to his teeth to uncap it swiftly. Jayde froze on her current step, bringing her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide as Joker walked right up behind Sarah and stuck her in the arm with the needle, pushing the plunger down to inject her with his 'invention'.

"OW!" she screamed, slapping her hand to her arm once Joker had tossed the needle to the side but before she could turn to see who had stuck her, his hands came up to cover her eyes tightly, using his elbows over her shoulders to keep her steady. "What the-…Oh my god…"

"Quiet," Joker interrupted her, glancing up at the angry yet not-completely-shocked expression on Tre's face. Sarah was still talking so Joker shook her head slightly with his hands. "Shh, sh…Tell me what you're feeling." He said in her ear quietly, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Um, fucking _scared?" _ she nearly screamed and Jayde couldn't help but laugh at her honest answer. "And…like I'm gonna-…" At this, Jayde squeezed her eyes shut, thinking that the girl was about to be sick all over the floor, but a moment later, poor Sarah collapsed with a fairly hefty 'thump', right between Joker and Tre's feet. Both of them stared down at her for a second or two before they looked up at each other again. Joker cleared his throat.

"Might wanna run her by the hospital on the way home."

Several hours had flown by since Tre had made Joker carry his now unconscious friend out to the truck, swearing profusely at him as he laughed, nearly dropping Sarah every few feet. With effort, Joker managed to somehow stuff the girl into the front seat of the truck and had come back inside claiming that his drug trial had not been successful and that he needed more test subjects. When Jayde and Dotcom flat out refused, he stomped up to his office, grumbling to himself about 'disloyalty'.

Now, the time was nearly seven in the evening, Jayde's stomach was starting to growl as the scent of Dotcom's cooking filled the entire house, Tre was apparently asleep in his room and Joker was currently walking down the hallway on the second floor, dressed in his black ensemble, whistling brightly to himself from between his teeth. His makeup was done perfectly, matching the composed messiness about his hair and Jayde was just admiring this from her place along the couch when he took a seat on the top of the railing of the stairs, only to slide all the way down swiftly. Without missing a beat, he caught himself on the bottom floor, spinning to walk over to Tre's door and bang on it a few times.

"'Ay bitch, lets bounce!" he shouted at the wood, leaving no time for an answer before he took a step toward the couch, only put his foot up on the back to climb over until he could plop down heavily next to Jayde with his arm behind her. "Gotta leave ya for a bit, kiddo, got some work to do." He explained vaguely, cocking his head to the side when Jayde nodded absentmindedly.

"Ok," she answered, not even bothering to take her eyes from the TV. Beside her, Joker's animated face fell dramatically at her lack of response. If she was playing some sort of game with him that involved being distant to get attention, he was not having it; games were meant to be fun, _not _confusing. In an effort to catch her attention a little, he brought his hand from the couch behind her to flick her hard in the side of the head with his middle finger. She gasped in pain, bringing one hand up to her curls while a split second later, her right arm swung out, punching him hard in the side of his leg. Joker broke into a loud laugh, doubling slightly at how angry Jayde had just gotten and his hand braced his leg, rubbing deeply with his thumb where she had just dead-legged him.

"_Christ, _Jayde…" he hissed, reaching out swiftly to suddenly grab her face and turn it toward him, pulling her closer forcefully until her eyes were inches from his. Her nose touched the tip of his, only long enough to leave a small dot of white greasepaint on her clean skin. "I just want ya to say bye to me, kid. Spare me a moment or two of your _precious_ time." he now growled, his eyes darting back and forth between hers several times as she glared at him.

"Bye,"

It seemed for a second to Jayde, that Joker was about wrap his hand around the front of her neck as he moved to do so but then clenched his fingers into a fist when the sound of Tre clearing his throat behind them broke the silence. Joker turned brightly, glancing up at Tre as though just remembering that he had been waiting for him.

"Ah, yes. Tre, my good man. Let's go." He said somewhat excitedly, standing up from the couch without another word to Jayde, without even looking over his shoulder before he stepped out into the garage after Tre, the tails of his black coat waving behind him. Jayde rolled her eyes, while on the other side of the garage door, Joker stopped, frowning off into space. Tre stopped to turn an look at him with an expectant expression. Joker shook his head in confusion.

"What the _fuck _just happened?"

Thirty minutes later after Joker had done a good bit of venting to the only person he could, the Escalade was pulling off of the interstate and onto Gotham asphalt as Tre shook his head.

"Man, that girl is playin' games wit you," he started, glancing over at Kieron with a raised eyebrow. "You _do _realize that she was impersonating you when she did that…right?" he then asked, in reference to the obnoxious way Jayde had chosen to be distant with him. A second later, a _very _rare, dumbfounded expression fell over the Joker's face as he turned slowly to stare at Tre as though he were a wise sage.

"Is _that _what that was?" he asked incredulously, shaking his head when Tre nodded. "When did these girls get so _smart?"_ Tre laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

"They've always been smart, bro. You just never noticed until you got close to one."

Jayde glanced at the clock on her phone for what seemed like the one-hundredth time over the past three hours since Joker had left, only to sigh when she noticed simultaneously that there were no missed calls. She did not really expect him to call her, but still the fact that he hadn't called Dotcom either was starting to wear on her. Her mind would not stop replaying the sensation of his tight grip on either side of her jaw or the way his glossy, angry eyes had looked just inches from hers. It had not been her intention to make him so mad, but she really wanted him to see what it was like when he did that to her, how infuriating and annoying it was. However, Joker was so oblivious to her intentions at times, that it was likely he didn't even catch what she had meant by her actions.

But now that Joker had been gone for quite some time, guilt and slight worry began to grow in the back of her mind, remembering how angry he had been upon leaving the house. It was likely that he had already chosen someone to take this out on and was probably washing blood from his hands at that very moment, where ever he was. Jayde shivered slightly as she pictured this. A moment later, she shifted uncomfortably in the chair when her stressing mind took her in another direction, forcing her to consider the thought that Joker might not even come home. She quickly imagined a scene in her head where the Joker lay in an alley somewhere, bleeding to death or seemingly worse, in handcuffs in the back of a police car. Her eyes closed as she swallowed hard; maybe purposefully pissing him off was not such a good idea.

Ten minutes turned into thirty, a half hour into a full one and before Jayde could even blink, midnight had already come and gone; still no word from Joker or Tre. Dotcom seemed to notice the distracted expression on Jayde's face as he looked over at her from the other end of the couch. She noticed this from the corner of her eye but did not look over or say anything until he cleared his throat quietly.

"I bet they'll be home soon," he said bracingly, glancing at his phone. "I don't think-…"

Just then, across the room from them, the garage door flew open and in stumbled Tre, his arm behind the Joker's back as he supported him, helping him into the house. The sound of pouring rain roared behind them for just a second before the door was slammed shut and by the time Jayde could even look over and assess what was happening, Dotcom had jumped up off of the couch and was now jogging over to the Joker's far side, placing his arm around his back like Tre was doing. Rising from the couch in a daze, Jayde's eyes were wide when she finally noticed that Joker was not putting weight on his right leg…and for good reason. Above his knee, between it and his thigh, it appeared as though Joker had simply torn his pants, but as he moved, Jayde noticed that his skin behind the black material was red and glistened as he moved through the light. Her brain was quickly catching up as Joker started rattling off orders.

"Tre, take my phone and call Kelly, tell him to get here now. Dotcom, once I get in my room, go in my office, to the metal cabinets and get the spray bottle of that disinfectant. Get three syringes, the bottle of Lidocaine, gloves, and my surgical kit." He was saying rather calmly, although from the way Jayde could see that he was sweating and cringing with every limp he took, it could not have been more clear that he was in a great deal of pain; it was obvious he was trying incredibly hard to stay in control. Jayde was so busy gaping after him as he made it to the stairs, hardly daring to believe that this was really happening, that she failed to hear Joker saying her name until he had to shout. "Jayde!" She jumped and suddenly, her body was in overdrive, severely close to panicking.

"Yes? What? What do you need?" she asked hastily, taking a couple steps toward him, only to stop mid-step when he stopped limping with the support of Dotcom, to turn and glare at her with narrowed eyes.

"Go outside and don't come back in until someone comes to get you, understand me?" he asked harshly, not even sparing a glance at Tre as he kept his eyes trained on Jayde. Her eyes had seemingly glazed over with hurt but currently, Joker was the furthest from caring if he had hurt her feelings than he had ever been before. "_Get out!"_ he then shouted angrily, closing his eyes for a half second as searing pain ran up and down his leg from the location of the bullet slipping further and further into his body.

"Ok." Jayde finally answered, her voice soft and distant as she nodded, looking identical to a deer caught in high-beams. And with that, Joker and Dotcom continued up the stairs rather slowly, but Jayde did not stick around to watch any more and instead turned to the patio in a daze, sliding open the glass to step outside. Her stomach was churning violently, making her feel much too close to being sick for her comfort so she sat down, resting her head in her hands to take deep, even breaths. Tears that she had not even felt coming started to gather at the inside corners of her eyes, welling up and threatening to splash onto her pajama pants.

Just inside the house, behind her, Jayde could hear Tre's muffled, deep voice through the glass, talking to who she assumed was Kelly on the phone, although she had no idea why Joker would have immediately wanted to call him first when he had been injured. Her nose wrinkled in extreme hurt when her mind replayed the sound of Joker shouting at her to get out. It had truly been a long time since he had used that tone of voice with her but immediately, Jayde remembered why she hated it so much. While she had always known Joker to have a great ability to change his voice from clowny to deep and husky, she had also known him to have it change from anything to biting and horrible, loud and harsh, gut-wrenching almost, especially when the shouting was directed at _her_. It seemed whatever higher power Jayde believed in had been listening to her guilty thoughts earlier and was now teaching her a lesson about leaving people on bad terms.

Upstairs, Dotcom had finally gotten Joker into his bathroom, per his instructions, and he stood now at his sink, leaned on his left, uninjured leg as he worked quickly and yet calmly to remove as much of his makeup as he could before Dotcom returned with his medical supplies. The greasepaint was normally fairly drip proof but Joker had a feeling that in less than ten minutes from then, he would be sweating hard enough for it to start running in his eyes and make removing a bullet from his leg impossibly difficult. Wiggling his toes as he scrubbed his face, he could feel that the blood running down his leg had seemingly formed a warm, sticky pool in his shoe. So after quickly removing as much greasepaint as he could, he eased himself onto the edge of the bathtub, gasping once or twice as more doses of pain shot up and down his leg.

By the time Dotcom had gotten there, Joker had gotten halfway down with his pants, completely ignoring the fact that he was practically undressing in front of the one member of his team that was not sexually attracted to the same thing he was. His shoes were easy enough to kick off and after peeling his socks off, he reached out for the disinfectant spray from Dotcom, only for his nerd to hold it back from him.

"You need to take some deep breaths and calm down. You're just losing blood faster. I'll do this." He explained boldly, clearly deciding that now was the time for him to override the Joker's instructions. However, a moment later, the boss seemed to agree and instead leaned against the sink, closing his eyes to try and slow his heart rate. It was not the fact that he had been shot that was making him angry, it was the fact that he was actually in a good amount of pain that was making him _furious._ But thinking in detail of how he was going to absolutely _destroy _the police officer who had done this did not seem to be helping in the effort to slow his heart, so Joker quickly switched to something else. A moment later, Tre entered the bathroom.

"Kelly on his way, brother. What you need me to do?" he asked, glancing down at the half dollar-sized, oozing hole in Joker's thigh. After looking over to find that Dotcom had finished spraying every surface in the bathroom with the disinfectant, Joker stood up straight, taking a deep breath in through his nose.

"Dotcom, go downstairs and sit with Jayde. Tre, go and lock my door behind him, then come back in here." he instructed, watching as Dotcom immediately took off toward the door with Tre on his heels. This was the sort of well-oiled machine Joker had always dreamed of having, and this 'exercise' was definitely showing off the colors of his crew. Tre returned a moment later, watching as Joker finished scrubbing his palms and hands, his finger nails, on up his wrists to his elbows before he rinsed them in the sink thoroughly, not bothering to dry them before he limped heavily to the bathtub. "Tre, wash your hands like I did then come over here, I need you to hand me stuff so I can get this _bullet _ out of my leg."

Jayde's head whipped around when the glass door slid open behind her, only to find Dotcom stepping outside, his expression vexed and stressed, yet collected. He seemed to be fighting with himself on something but a moment later he pushed through.

"It…It's looking kinda serious, but…" He began, but stammered a few times as she jumped up out of her chair, sliding past him and into the house. "He said you can't-," he went to call after her but Jayde had already made it to the stairs, taking two at a time until she made it to Joker's door. Her hand twisted the knob hopefully, but she let out a short quick breath as it remained firmly in place. Dotcom had caught up with her and was now watching as she placed her back against the door, buckling her knees to slide down it until she could sit on the floor, her hands rested on either side of her.

"He got shot?" she asked after a few seconds, looking over to Dotcom who had decided to sit just across from her on the carpet in the hallway outside Joker's room. He nodded quickly, glancing at the door behind her and Jayde exhaled heavily, running her hand through her hair anxiously. "I shouldn't have let him leave like that," she commented off-handedly, more to herself than to Dotcom although she knew that he was listening. "that's why he's keeping me away from him now, I guarantee it. He wants me to feel-…" Just then, Jayde was cut off by a loud shout of pain from inside Joker's room and immediately, her eyes grew wide and started to well up with more fat tears.

Inside the Joker's bathroom, Tre was knelt next to the tub, watching as his best friend shook in pain from head to toe, barely able to keep his hands steady as he tried to find a good place to inject himself with another dose of local anesthetic. He was breathing fairly hard although it was clear he was trying hard to stay focused and push past the pain. After injecting the Lidocaine, Joker took a deep steadying breath, in and out through his nose, although this did not do much to help at this point. The long surgical tweezers he had been using were blood stained and sitting in a cup of disinfectant and at first, it seemed like Joker was about to reach for them again, but seemed to think better of it. He looked to Tre, finally conveying the slightest, _smallest _ bit of fear.

"If I pass out, ya gotta keep looking for it. Kelly should be here soon, but…" he paused when Tre shook his head.

"Nah, bro. Why would you pass out?" he asked, readjusting his position on his knees when they started to ache. Joker growled angrily, shaking his head.

"Because it fucking hurts, Tre!" he shouted in reply, but then took another deep breath, looking down at his slowly bleeding leg. Finally, after pushing the thought of how Jayde would react if this were to kill him to the back of his mind, Joker reached out, pushing one finger into his wound, gritting his teeth as he trembled violently. The pain was enough to make his vision go blurry and make him feel like he was about to be sick, but he pushed past it, trying forcefully to clear his mind when he felt the something solid and round against the tip of his finger. This came as an encouragement and Joker held out his other hand to Tre, keeping his eyes focused on his finger with the bullet just at the tip of it inside his leg, between some of the muscle there. Luckily Tre knew exactly what Joker was asking for and handed him the long tweezers, watching closely, glancing up and down between Kieron's face and the wound in his leg.

As carefully and yet hastily as Joker could, he pushed the end of the tweezers into the hole against his latex gloved finger, focusing hard on keeping the muscles in his leg relaxed. Nearly two inches in, Joker could feel the head of the tweezers fall into place on either side of the bullet so he wasted no time in clamping down on it, only to pull it slowly and steadily to the skin, removing his finger under it to prevent it from falling back in. Finally, he let out a groan, dropping the gooey tweezers and bullet into the far end of the tub with a clatter, followed by his pair of blood-stained gloves. His arms folded across his chest as he shivered, the loss of blood starting to affect him now. He looked up to Tre, his eyes half-lidded and lethargic.

"I need Kelly, _now." _

Outside in the hallway, Jayde was just sniffing, wiping her cheeks with the sides of her hands when the door suddenly unlocked and opened quickly behind her to reveal Tre, looking sweaty and maybe even a bit uneasy. He was staring down at the phone in his hand, dialing a few numbers before he noticed the expectant look on Dotcom's face. When he noticed Jayde at his feet a second later, he sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"He told you to stay outside, girl…" he began reproachfully but Jayde was quick to cut across him and stand up from the carpet.

"Look, I'm sorry, Tre, but I can't just…sit outside while…while he's in there…" she paused, pointing at the door. "is he _alright?" _she finally asked loudly but was left with no time for an answer when Tre walked over to the stairs just as the garage door opened and in strode Kelly, crossing the marble floors to the stairs determinedly, a large, tackle-box type case at his side. Tre was already speaking by the time he made it to the second floor.

"He got it out but he lost a good bit of blood. He looked about ready to pass out when I came out here."

"Is it still open?" Kelly asked, walking past Jayde and Dotcom like they were peeling paint on the walls and only then, once he had passed her did she notice the name on the back of his navy blue t-shirt. _Gotham City Paramedics…_Jayde felt her stomach clench up again. Dotcom was standing up from the floor, brushing off the back of his pants.

"Lets go downstairs, baby, you don't need to be up here. Kelly is a surgeon, I think he's gonna be-…" he was saying consolingly but Jayde shook her head, staring down at the carpet as she started to pace, folding her arms over her stomach.

"No, I'm gonna stay here." she put firmly, glancing at Joker's door for what seemed like the fiftieth time. Dotcom watched her for several moments as if trying to decide if she was serious or not, but he obviously thought better of it than to try and argue with her when she was on edge so he moved to lean against the wall of the hallway, pushing his glasses up to the top of his head to rub his eyes deeply.

For what felt like an hour, Jayde paced slowly up and down in front of Joker's door, straining her ears for noises from inside the room, hoping desperately that she was about to hear Joker's recognizable voice from within, saying something sarcastic and mean. However, all she could hear every time she stopped to lean her ear closer was muffled voices, echoing slightly against the tile in Joker's bathroom. By now, Dotcom was sitting on the floor again, flipping through his phone and even though Jayde knew that he was just doing this to keep her company, she could not have appreciated it more.

Jayde was just making her one-thousandth pass by the door when it finally opened and Kelly stepped out, looking like he had just been dragged out of his bed but otherwise appeared fine. Her eyes quickly flew past him into the room as the door opened but it was closed again a split second later. Dotcom stood up, walking over.

"Is he ok?" he asked, glancing at Jayde as she stared hopefully at him. On bated breath, they both waited for an answer as Kelly _yawned_, reaching up to stifle it behind his hand.

"Sorry…Yeah, he's fine. He had already gotten it out by the time I got here so all I had to do was pretty much clean it out and suture it closed." He answered as though Dotcom and Jayde had asked how the event had effected him personally. When they both glared at him, he went on hastily. "Yeah, he lost a good amount of blood so he's a little out of it right now but he'll be good by tomorrow." Jayde exhaled in relief, glancing at Dotcom as she turned away, reaching up to wipe a quick last tear off of her cheek. When she turned back, Kelly was grinning at her sympathetically and he had just opened his mouth to say something when Joker's door opened again and Tre stood in the way, looking to Jayde. Her heart leapt when he stepped aside but didn't dare get her hopes up until Tre had nodded inside with his head, opening the door wider for her to walk past him.

It was fairly dim inside Joker's bedroom, almost like being in a hospital room, as the only light came from the TV and the tiny lamp on the nightstand next to his bed. Jayde's heart was beating so loudly, she was almost positive that the three guys outside the door could hear it; luckily, it appeared that Joker was asleep already. Apparently, Kelly and Tre had helped him lay down in his favorite spot on his back and folded a pillow to prop underneath his right knee, keeping it elevated. His shirt, undershirt, vest and tie had all been removed, leaving him bare chested in his baggy pair of long, soft pajama pants, sitting low on his hips. Jayde took a few steps toward the bed, staring at the clean side of his face, at how he had failed to remove the farthest bits of his makeup, the white greasepaint still coating a bit of his ear and neck, staining the blonde roots of his hair around his forehead. Her eyes had just moved to his right leg curiously. It looked the same as it ever did but as she took another silent step closer, she noticed a bit of a ridge down by his knee where she assumed the bandage ended. A second later, she jumped with a gasp when Joker's raspy voice broke the morgue-like silence in the room.

"I'm not _dead_, ya know…" he growled, opening one eye slowly to peer lethargically up at her, his eyebrow raising slowly as her shoulders finally relaxed. Jayde shook her head with a grin of half-happiness, half-guiltiness, fighting hard against those damn tears that were once again rushing to embarrass her. When Joker noticed and began to frown, Jayde took another step closer.

"I'm _really _sorry about earlier. You were just trying to get me to say…_bye _to you and I-…" she immediately began rattling off but stopped mid-word when Joker shook his head wearily, holding up a hand.

"Shhh…Jayde," he began but then glanced to the side, reaching out to the nightstand when he suddenly, _luckily _remembered the two Vicodin that Kelly had left him, figuring that now was the best time to talk about this…while he had the opportunity to be stoned as _fuck_. "Come sit right here." he then said, patting the spot next to him on the bed before tossing the two pills in his mouth and taking a long drink of water from the glass. Being infinitely careful not to move him too much or touch his leg in any way, Jayde crawled up onto the side of the bed nearest the wall, sitting Indian style next to his waist so she could look down at him. Joker sighed when he noticed this. Did she really have to be staring right at him? The vicodin was starting to hit him hard now so he held up a hand, beckoning her closer until she could rest her head on his shoulder. His arm draped around her sluggishly, falling into place along her back.

Joker's eyes were closed as his brain started to fog up, but being on an altered state of consciousness was usually what it took for him to admit something openly and one-hundred percent honestly. He had been trying all evening to figure out what to say to her when he got back, about how best to approach their situation without killing her or even hurting her. This distracted him from the job at hand, thus slowing him down…thus getting him shot. His mind had been so focused on Jayde and her horrible, confusing games that he had not been able to think clearly to get he and Tre out of the line of fire and if Jayde was going to stick around, this could _never_ _EVER _happen again. By now, the Joker was feeling nice and fucked up so he plowed ahead, pushing past his discomfort to just spit it out.

"Jayde…Ya _can't _play games wit' me like that…" he slurred, shaking his head slowly, his eyes closed and his features relaxed. "I mean…I don't know what this is-…that we have, but…I'm new at it. I've never been in a…rela-…situation like this before…" At this, Joker paused to swallow hard, feeling incredibly close to throwing up. He pushed on; it had to be said sooner or later and preferably before he sobered up. "I have no idea what I'm even _doing…_" his speech was really starting to slur and stumble now. "So you can't…do that…games with me. It just really…_confusing_…and _that _makes me…" he paused, sighing slightly as his eyebrows furrowed. "-makes me really _mad_."

By now, Jayde had lifted her head off of his shoulder, turned over onto her side next to him and leaned on her elbow as she listened, trying hard not to grin. It was obvious he was only getting more and more high by the second, but she was not about to stop him; he was finally saying the things she had been needing to hear. Joker's heavy eyes forced themselves open just a fraction of an inch as he let out a short breath through his nose, trying incredibly hard to keep himself conscious at this point, why, Jayde wasn't sure yet. Her hand reached out to rest lightly in the middle of his chest as if checking his heartbeat to confirm for herself that he really was still alive but a moment later, his much larger one came to rest on top of it, just as his eyes slid shut again. Jayde watched him for nearly a minute, rubbing the side of his finger with her thumb until she broke the silence softly.

"Can I sleep in here tonight?"

Joker's chest rose and fell unevenly a few times as he took a couple quick breaths, tilting his head back further into the pillows to readjust. His hand stayed in place atop hers and his raspy, gravely voice answered a second later.

"I dunno, can you?"

A/N: If your heart is still racing, don't worry…it'll stop in a few minutes. = ] Anyways, you guys came through big time with the reviews on that last chapter! LETS KEEP IT UP! LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU LOVE JOKER AND JAYDE AND WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! –QoM

Oh, and if you are a follower of this story and have not gone to check out the pictures of Joker and Jayde on my photobucket account, then shame on you, and you need to go do it . = ]


	25. This Night

After pulling back the blankets on Joker's bed to slide underneath them, the last thing Jayde could remember was stirring from her sleep a few hours later when she felt a pressure on her hand, stretched out on the bed between her and the Joker. She could vaguely remember wondering what had woken her and why her fingers felt stuck together when Joker readjusted his grip on her hand, moving his fingers only slightly. A silly, sleepy grin had attacked her face in the dark when she heard him take a deep breath in and exhale comfortably a second later, as though subconsciously reassuring her that he was still ok.

Now, as Jayde rolled over to face him, dim light peeked into the room from around the black drape over his window, and she lifted her head slightly to see around his pillow. Fortunately, he had not moved during the night and was still asleep on his back, his hand rested over the place where he had gripped hers in his sleep a few hours ago. Jayde stared at his scarred knuckles, slightly ashamed of herself for letting go of his hand when it was clear he had meant for her to hold onto it.

As he lay there, propped up slightly by his pillows, Joker was scowling hard in his sleep, his face turned up and tilted back slightly as it seemed like he had been trying for most of the night to get comfortable. Jayde had slept next to him enough times to know that he was usually unable to sleep on his back and almost always resorted to laying on his stomach or side. Luckily, it seemed as though he had finally been able to fall asleep so Jayde was extremely careful not to move the bed as she turned onto her other side slowly, to face him.

Closing her eyes, Jayde thought back to the night before and the whirlwind of emotions her body had put her through. It was rather alarming to her now, upon looking back, how distraught she had felt when it seemed like Joker was practically dying and as she lay there, staring at the back of his hand, she started to wonder about what it could possibly be that made her feel this way about him. He was rude and mean, amoral and self-absorbed. Manipulation was one of his favorite games, using people to get what he needed, then disposing of them once his needs had been met. His moods changed as quickly as traffic lights although much less predictably. One minute, he was laughing and joking with her, kissing her and touching her hair. The next, he was lashing out, ignoring her or calling her stupid, raising his voice at her, simply to get a reaction. Jayde's eyes had just closed again when beside her, this man took a deep breath in through his nose, reaching up with his left hand to scratch his jaw sleepily as he adjusted his shoulders.

Jayde ignored this, laying still with her eyes closed, hoping to pretend that she was still asleep although a second later, when Joker's pointer finger stretched out to gently touch the top of hers, it became impossibly difficult to keep herself from grinning. Maybe it was the little things like a tiny touch or even just a look that made her have these feelings. However, Jayde figured by now that she would never quite figure it out and there was no need to deny or analyze it anymore- Jayde was completely head over heels for this guy and she had _no _idea why...and was starting to believe she never would. For the time being, she stayed still, her face buried into the pillow while Joker's finger continued to glide gently up and down the top of hers, slowly, in rhythm with his deep breathing. Part of Jayde really wanted to slide over and let him wrap his arm around her, but the other parts were really enjoying this subtle show of affection when he was under the impression that she was asleep and could not feel it. For nearly a full minute, she let him go on until his finger slowed and then slowed more until it lay perfectly still atop hers.

Unable to contain herself anymore, Jayde pushed herself up to inch closer until she was right next to him, taking his hand in between hers. Joker grunted once, softly in his sleep before his eyes opened slowly, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as his vision cleared. A gentle smile met her face as he blinked heavily, sleepily clearing his throat before exhaling through his nose.

"Hi," he growled, his voice raspier and lower than normal, more than likely from barking orders and shouting at his team the previous night. Jayde's smile expanded as his hand let go of hers and his arm raised to wrap around her, giving her perfect access to that one comfortable spot where his shoulder met his chest, for once actually indicating that he would like her to rest her head there

"Hi." She answered quietly, scooting as closely as possible to his side without touching his leg in any way. "How are you feeling?" she then asked, rolling over further to rest her arm on his bare chest, shivering slightly when he reached up to glide two of his fingers very lightly along the underside of her forearm. He took a deep breath in.

"Alive." He answered flatly, opening one eye when he felt Jayde tilt her head back to look up at him. Their gazes met for just a second, trying to read each others minds before Jayde smiled, bravely reaching up to touch her pointer finger very lightly to the scar on his right cheek, the more symmetrical and evenly shaped of the two. At first, Jayde nearly brought her hand back when Joker flinched ever so slightly but a moment later, he sighed, leaning into her touch a bit. "Kelly said I'm supposed to stay in bed today…" he murmured, patiently allowing Jayde to pet him for a few moments, deciding that maybe a little 'TLC' was exactly what he needed to quell that bitter-tasting, angry, malicious feeling lurking in the pit of his stomach. He could feel Jayde's scar stretch into a grin against his shoulder so he licked his lips, opening his eyes to look down at her. "Darling, could you do me a favor? Run downstairs and get me a glass of ice water?" he asked charmingly.

Jayde sighed sarcastically, pushing herself up onto her elbow to smirk down at him. "Only if you kiss me first and say please." Her smirk expanded when Joker's brown eyes narrowed onto her blue ones where he glanced back and forth between them. Finally, he brought his arms up, pushing himself away from his pillows until he could rest with his elbows behind him and his lips met hers smoothly. Jayde tried not to smile upon remembering back to the times when Joker used to openly look for ways to get out of showing her affection. It seemed now, he understood that a few sweet words and a kiss here and there was really all she needed to stay happy. She shivered when he brought his left hand up to the side of her neck, sliding his thumb along her jaw lightly. After another moment, he pulled away, separating their lips by only inches so he could open his eyes and see hers.

"_Please?"_ he growled deeply, his voice quiet and gravely as he moved his hand to now glide his thumb down the front of her neck, forcing another deep shiver from her. She groaned, pulling away immediately to crawl off of the bed, casting him a dark look as she went.

"You're the devil." She told him, leaning down to pick up the sweater she had taken off the previous night. He grunted a laugh, reaching for the remote to his tv.

"I prefer _Joker, _actually…" he answered distractedly, straining to see the right buttons in the dim light as Jayde walked to the door, opening it to flood the room with bright sunlight. The door had almost closed behind her when from within the room, she heard him call, "-And tell that nigger Tre to give you my phone!"

Jayde shook her head, rolling her eyes as she ran into Dotcom, just opening his door, yawning with his glasses rested sloppily at the very end of his nose. He noticed her just a second before his eyes glanced at the Joker's closed door and he took a deep breath, pointing at it.

"How's he doing?" he asked, walking beside Jayde as they made their way to the top of the stairs to go down. She shook her head, glancing at him with a somewhat annoyed expression.

"Cranky." She answered, glancing behind the stairs to Tre's door that was luckily already open. "I think he's annoyed that Kelly told him he has to stay in bed all-…"

Like some great bear coming out of it's cave, a deep voice interrupted her. "If you think that dude is about to stay in his bed all day, girl, you on that _new _shit." Tre commented, shaking his head as he emerged from his bedroom, holding his pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Both Jayde and Dotcom glanced at each other before looking to Tre, who shrugged his shoulders, taking a cigarette out to place it loosely between his lips and walk over toward the sliding glass door. He reached it, sliding it open half way to light the cigarette outside, but then counterproductively blow the smoke into the house as he spoke. "He's probably really mad right-…" he had begun to say but was interrupted abruptly by the sound of a door being thrown open on the second floor with a slight bang.

Jayde felt her stomach clench up, even just from the angry, itchy energy that had now entered the room, up on the landing in the form of one seething, heavily limping Joker. Tre breathed through his nose, lowering his head slightly as he and his best friend made eye contact, though only for a second before Joker started limping toward the stairs, gliding his hand along the railing.

"Jayde, did it ever occur to you that I might need my phone like…_now?"_ he asked loudly, leaning heavily on his left arm as he started taking slow steps down the stairs. Luckily, his head was bowed, concentrating on what he was doing so he did not have to see the taken-back, rather hurt expression on her face as she glanced at Tre for help. She clearly had no idea what to say and Joker could not help but roll his eyes when Tre spoke up, deflecting his attention from Jayde.

"How are you feelin', bro?" he asked, taking another hit of his cigarette casually, trying to smooth over the attitude emanating from the Joker like waves of heat. By now, he had reached the bottom stair and had just stepped down off of it when he rolled his eyes to the ceiling, sucking in a breath of air through his teeth, making a hissing noise as he searched for an appropriate answer.

"_Actually," _he began, finally glancing back and forth between Jayde, Dotcom and Tre, feeling slightly cornered. Jayde felt her stomach drop another few inches. "I'm feeling pissed as _fuck _and like I'm about to go kill _a lot _of people, Tre." He answered as though he had been commenting on his plans for a picnic in the park. His eyes squinted as he rocked his head to the side. "How 'bout you…" Without waiting for an answer, Joker began limping over toward him, one hand held out as he approached. "My _phone_, if you will." He requested, glancing up and down between his outstretched hand and Tre's calm face.

"You're not supposed to go anywhere today, guy, you know what Kelly-…" Tre began to try and reason with him but stopped when Joker interrupted.

"I'm also not supposed to do _this,"_ he growled, reaching up quickly to flick Tre's cigarette in half, scowling hard at him as a murderous look came over his black friends face. "-I do what I can. Now, _phone?"_ he went on to ask for a second time, holding his hand out to Tre once again, staring at his angry brown eyes with his eyebrows raised. Finally, Tre walked away, over to his bedroom to disappear inside. Both Jayde and Dotcom turned away quickly when Joker looked over at them, trying to make it look as though they had been busy doing something when his attention was left undivided. Luckily, Joker seemed to have forgotten to tell Tre something and was now shouting after him, "And you might as well get changed while you're in there- you're comin' with me!"

Jayde glanced over quickly from the kitchen, feeling slightly more at ease when she noticed Joker wince as he tried to put his full weight on his leg and he seemed to decide that sitting down at the table was more comfortable than standing there, pretending his leg didn't hurt. As he sat, she heard him exhale with a groan and in the reflection of the microwave, she noticed him rest his forehead in his hand with his elbow on the table. Part of her really wanted to go scratch his back and try and help him feel better, but his mood was explosive at the moment, like a bomb just seconds away from going off. The pain was clearly making him irritable and angry, probably at himself for allowing it to affect him and a Joker mad at the _Joker_ was almost worse than a Joker mad at the _police_…_This _Joker just happened to be mad at both.

At the table, Joker used the tips of his fingers to rub the front of his scalp gently, in some last ditch effort to help himself calm down a bit. The pain in his leg honestly was not as bad as he thought it would be, but just the fact that he had been _slowed down _by some idiot cop that had just started firing blindly in their direction warranted some pretty bad behavior on his part. He found it hard to imagine that Tre had really thought he was just going to sit in his bed all day and fume and watch tv, and even _harder _to imagine that he had let himself get _slightly_ excited to lay in bed and be pampered by Jayde all day. No, the time for retaliation was _now, _when the anger was still fresh in his memory, when he could still visualize the exact way he was going to punish this man. He just needed to get a hold of Linman to get some info on what the officer's family's routines were, including where they lived and where their kids went to school. So rolled up into the whirling thoughts circulating his brain, Joker failed to notice Jayde walking up toward him. His eyes opened a moment later when a glass of ice water appeared on the table front of him; he looked up just in time to see Jayde walking away from him, over to the stairs where she went up quietly, not even sparing a look back. Joker's eyes watched her go until she had disappeared into her room and Tre was walking out of his, holding a phone and a long black coat. When he made it over, he held out Joker's phone but took it back slightly when he reached out for it and raised his eyebrows calmly as Joker's eyes narrowed up at him.

"I don't really care about you being a dick to Jayde and Dotcom because they're used to it. But I've had your back for more than half of our lives, Ki." He said, leaning down slightly. "You owe it to me to treat me with more respect than that."

As Joker scowled up at him, a flashback flew into his memory where he could clearly remember Tre wrestling a knife out of his hand in the ugly tiled bathroom at the house in Chicago as he bled from his face profusely. A second later, he nodded once, glancing down at the phone somewhat awkwardly, hoping Tre would understand that he was agreeing. The phone finally made it to his hand and Joker immediately began to go through it, searching through the numbers as Tre took a seat at the head of the table across from him.

Jayde stayed in her room for quite a while, first seeking refuge in a hot shower, then spent an abnormally long time fixing her hair. At first, upon entering her room, she had still been able to hear the lower notes of Joker's voice floating in through her door from the table but now, as she turned on her tv, the house seemed silent. Her curious nature begged her to go and find out what was going on and whether or not the Joker and Tre had already left, but her rational mind reminded her of how rude he had been to her earlier. So she stay put, folding her arms over her stomach indignantly as if forcing herself to stay in place; if he wasn't going to come tell her goodbye ,especially after the way things had played out the night before, then he didn't deserve one from her.

Ten minutes later, even over the sound of the television, Jayde jumped when she heard Joker's loud voice shout her name from the bottom floor. At first, she considered not responding and staying put Joker was being particularly irritable today and the last thing she wanted to do was add herself to the list of people he was planning on 'visiting'. So taking a deep, emboldening breath in, she rose from her bed to walk over and step out onto the landing, trying to keep her face as passive as possible.

Down on the bottom floor, near the table, stood the Joker, his face painted into that grotesque smile, wearing his purple ensemble. He must have heard her as he turned, glancing up at her before motioning for her to come down to him with a flick of his finger. Luckily, his head was bowed, reading over something from that small black notebook of his so he failed to notice the hefty eye-roll she allowed herself. When she reached him, Joker flipped his book closed, glancing behind him to where Tre had just stepped out into the garage.

"Tre and I are going out for the day. Dotcom is staying here to run the computers so I suggest you-…" he began to instruct, but Jayde felt herself interrupting him.

"Can you please not act like this towards me? We both know you're only mad because you got hurt and that's understandable." She heard herself saying, although she had no idea who's mouth these words were coming from. "But please don't take it out on me when all I'm here to do is help you." She paused, thankful that no one was around so she could reach out and touch his arm with one finger. "Just pretend to be nice to me…It'll make me happy." At first, Jayde half expected him to lash out or even swing out with the back of his hand, but instead, he cleared his throat, glancing up at the stairs behind her although she knew no one was there.

"Fine." He answered flatly, glancing to the side before he finally forced himself to make eye contact with her. "I probably wont be back until later tonight." He went on to explain but just when Jayde was about to answer or even hope he would kiss her before he left, she found herself staring at his back as he walked with a slight limp to the garage door without another word. Only then did she notice a leather, double-gun strap that hooked around his back and she let off a tiny shudder, feeling mixed sympathy and pity for whoever had injured the Joker and now had to suffer his wrath.

For most of the day, Jayde hung around Dotcom a lot, not to talk to him, since he was fairly busy, but because he was sitting in front of a small wall of computer screens, with Joker's voice on speaker as they communicated. At first, they had been jabbering back and forth, exchanging information about where this 'Officer Malcolm' parked his cruiser when at the station or where his house was and things like this. But toward the end of the exchange, Joker seemed to decide that the only thing better than taking out _a _cop, was to take out twenty. At this, Dotcom and Jayde had looked at each other, only for the radio to go silent a second later as Joker had obviously turned it off. At five o'clock, she gave up trying to occupy herself and retired to her room for a movie and maybe a nap if her mind would let her.

Joker glanced at his watch, only for his stomach to give an excited jolt when he noticed that six o'clock was only minutes away. Quickly, he pulled out his phone, dialed seven numbers, then held it to his ear, glancing at Tre in the seat next to him. It rang three times before a gruff voice answered.

"Yeah."

"Everything in place? All twenty cars rigged?" he asked, his voice quiet and calm, severely contradictory to the bouncy, excited feeling inside of him as he stepped out of the Escalade, joining Tre on the other side as they walked slowly out in front of the truck. The lights of the parking garage across the street were just flickering on when the voice answered.

"Yeah, we're ready to blow in five. Wait for your signal?"

"Yes."

At this, Joker ended the call, only to dial seven new numbers and press the phone to his ear, just as a gust of wind blew past him, ruffling his messy hair and the tails of his coat. It rang twice before a familiar voice answered.

"Gordon."

An evil, vengeful grin spread across the Joker's face as goosebumps rose up all along his arms, even underneath his warm coat, raising the hair on the back of his neck like a bristling, angry dog.

"Evening, Commissioner…Wonderful _weather _we're having, hm?" he asked in his clowniest, most recognizable voice.

"How did you get this number?" came the voice of Commissioner Gordon, serious and suddenly slightly shaky; Joker found it amusing how he could read a persons fear even without seeing their eyes.

"I'm a very smart man, Gordon. Which is why I wanted to give you a chance to catch me…" Joker paused, glancing at Tre as he threatened to laugh and give away the surprise. "If you go to your window, and _just _look out past the parking garage, you should see me right…about…"

As though he had planned it, Joker was left with a perfectly-timed pause, just before several loud booms in succession went off, rattling the ground, even from where he and Tre were standing in the corner of the dark parking lot. From their distance, even over his loud, boisterous laughter, the kind that doubled him over, Joker could clearly hear screams break out on the streets closer to the blast, as debris and flaming metal rained down on them. True, Joker would have liked more time to really set up a good attack on the police department but desperate times called for immediate measures, which he had been more than obliged to take to ensure all of Gotham had not forgotten his threats.

Now, as he quieted down slightly, Tre hit him on the arm, motioning to the black Escalade. "Man, we gotta go." Was all he needed to say before Joker looked down at the phone in his hand, staring at it for only a second before he took the battery out and moved to place it directly behind the front tire of the huge, heavy SUV.

"Alright," he began, climbing into the front seat of the truck, amazed but not completely surprised at how quickly the chaos he had created seemed to soothe the pain in his leg, especially now that he had been avenged. "Get out of here and get me onto fifty-seventh. I hear the family is at dinner waiting on Dad…" Joker growled, not even sparing a second thought to returning to the house just yet…he still had some hunting to do.

It was clear, from the way Tre exhaled through his nose that his interest in that evening's events was hitting an all time low but Joker ignored this, knowing his best friend was smart enough to keep it shut while he was on a frenzied prowl. The anxiety floating around Joker's body was starting to make him sweat slightly in anticipation so he shrugged out of his coat, tossing it into the back seat, followed closely by his vest. Honestly, there was nothing more risky than for him to leave the confines of the Escalade, especially when all of the Gotham police department, those of them that still had cars, was out looking for him. But from experience, Joker had come to learn rather quickly that the GPD seemed to think that he only wore one outfit all the time and had trained their eyes to spot purple, even in a dark alley.

Finally, the Escalade pulled up along the side of a building, at the street Joker had specified, but before he could open the door and step out, he turned to Tre, who seemed to be chewing on his bottom lip irritably. "Meet me in a half hour on the other side of fifty-sixth, outside the laundromat." He said, not even wasting time to ask his friend what was bothering him, honestly, because he didn't care. There was still a heap of anxious energy in his body that he needed to release; he would not sleep that night unless it was resolved. Luckily, Tre simply nodded, shifting the car back into drive as Joker opened the door and got out quickly, shutting it behind him to walk across the short sidewalk, disappearing into the dark alley like a shadow.

Joker took a deep breath in through his nose, closing his eyes for a few minutes as they adjusted, turning the black masses before him into objects and obstacles that he should step over on his way. The guns he had tucked into the straps at his ribs bounced against his sides in rhythm with his footsteps, silently, expertly moving between the garbage and sleeping homeless man to continue on his way, his eyes blinking slowly, wide as he took in his dark surroundings. Reaching out with one ungloved hand, the tips of his fingers traveled along the rough bricks next to him, feeling his way along the alley, as if trying to feel the energy within the building with just a touch. Another deep breath filled his lungs with dirty, polluted oxygen; finally, he felt truly at home.

With only ten feet separating him and the sidewalk now, Joker stopped, turning to press his back against the wall, watching with keen eyes every person that walked past. It seemed the word of the bombing had already spread across mid-town Gotham, now it seemed the main topic of passer-by's conversation. Joker's eyes were closed as he listened to a few snippets of a young couple's words as they walked past.

"-_Such a sick freak. Who kills a bunch of cops for no reason?" _

The paint on the Joker's nose as it wrinkled in a suppressed giggle. _I do…_ he thought to himself, opening his eyes as a prickle of anger welled up inside him and for a moment or two, he considered giving himself away by stepping out from the alley, his gun raised as he fired two shots at the back of the couple's heads. His mind teased him by playing a scene of this fantasy but Joker shook it off; he was here for a reason. Turning his head, his eyes fell onto the dim restaurant across the street, where he noticed a young mother and her son in the window. She glanced at her phone before her eyes drifted out to the sidewalk on the other side of the window, clearly oblivious that her life had been up-ended in a matter of seconds…by the man watching her now. The young boy across from her asked her a question, clearly, as the mother looked to him just a moment later, smiling and nodding at him with a partially confident smile. Joker imagined her voice in his head, reassuring her son that his father was on his way and that he was probably just held up at work. _More like __**blown **__up at work…_ he thought, snickering to himself again.

A rustle behind him tore Joker's attention from the front of the restaurant with surprising speed, forcing him to turn around and stare into the darkness for the source of the sound. The alley looked just the way it had when he had walked through it moments before, but the way the hair on his arms and the back of his neck had just stood up told him that he was no longer the only person in this lane. His eyes squinted slightly when he heard the rustling noise again, and just when he expected to find Officer Mc-SoandSo, a small figure stepped out from around the side of a dumpster…a small figure with _hips, _no less…

As if he knew exactly who it was, as if he had been expecting to meet her there, Joker began walking toward the girl. She stopped when he began advancing, holding her ground as she stood in the middle of the alley, arcing her side as if she knew what her silhouette looked like against the distant light behind her. The Joker licked his lips as he walked up slowly, cocking his head to the side slightly. He had just opened his mouth to introduce himself when he noticed shiny pink lips part, the gloss flashing slightly.

"You're the Joker…" she cooed, her voice a bit raspier than Joker had been expecting. He let out a soft laugh, walking right up to begin circling her, eyeing her up and down slowly, much like a vulture would to an already deceased victim.

"And _you're _out at night by yourself…" he growled, rounding her left side to loom in, placing his face just inches from the side of hers. "Don't you watch the news, little girl?"

Finally, the small figure turned to him, her eyes half-lidded and strangely lustful as her gaze immediately fell from the dark rings to his red, painted lips. Her own parted slightly as she bravely looked up at him.

"I wanted to meet you," she answered, her gaze following him as he stood to his full height from bent slightly, towering over her as he laughed quietly, reaching up to pull a lock of her light-colored hair from over her shoulder, running it between his fingers lightly.

"And why _ever _would you want to meet a guy like me?" he asked, his voice quiet but clowny and bouncy. "Haven't you heard I'm…_crazy?" _The girl now turned fully to face him, placing her hand on her hip as she slid past him, turning to rest her back against the wall, arching her back slightly, casting light on her exposed midsection and the dangerous looking hipbones she was sporting, peeking out from just over the top of her much-too-short plaid skirt. Joker let himself glance down, licking his bottom lip before his top teeth followed, biting down.

"I think you're hot, I wont lie." She admitted, tossing her blonde hair back over her shoulders as if she had known Joker's eyes would flicker downwards again. "And I want you to fuck me." she then added, her eyes widening slightly as a whorish, playful grin parted her lips, exposing the pierced tongue behind her teeth. Joker let out a quiet, rather intruiged 'hmm', arching an eyebrow as he took a step closer to the girl, reaching out to let the tip of his pointer finger follow the slight dip in the middle of her stomach down to her pierced belly-button.

"Well, aren't you an interesting little turn of events…" he hissed, bringing his hand up now to bring her chin up forcefully with his pointer finger, glaring down at her dark eyes. "Tell me…" he began, taking another step closer. "How old are you, girl?" He then asked, his voice dropping as though he had predicted the way she would openly shiver at the sound of it. The goosebumps that rose along her shoulders were visible even in the darkness.

"Seventeen," she finally answered, once she had seemingly recovered, but just as Joker was about to reply, she suddenly reached out, wrapping her fingers around his wrist to pull his hand down and under the skirt. She was not wearing underwear…Joker felt another flicker of anger flare up in him, not only because this girl was young and _clearly _stupid, but also because he felt his body immediately react to her. With a growl, Joker pulled his hand away before reaching out with both of them, grabbing her shoulders to turn her around forcefully and push them into the wall, using one of his feet to kick her legs further apart.

"Hmm…" he started, taking both of her small wrists into his left hand, holding them tightly together while his right reached back under her skirt, gliding his middle finger along her folds, _mildly _surprised to find her already wet and sticky. His teeth gritted together as he let out a breathless laugh, just before he pushed two fingers inside of her, relishing in the throaty moan that had leapt up from the young girl. "Ya know? I've _always_ had a thing for blondes…" he growled, pushing his fingers in as far as he could, grinning when he felt her clench. Just then, Joker blinked hard several times when an image of Jayde cropped up into his mind and he could not help but notice how the pussy waiting for him at his house for him was easily ten times more tight than this amateur slut.

"I've always had a thing for bad guys," the girl said, tilting her head back to arch her back and beg for more when Joker withdrew his fingers, sliding his hand into his pocket. He laughed again, more loudly, releasing her hands from his grip though only for a moment before he touched her again, this time, sliding his hand onto her hip slowly, feeling his way along the bone there…Jayde's was not as bony and the grip he had grown accustomed to was much different on this girl; it felt almost like driving a different car.

"I have a question for you," he murmured, gliding his hand up along the curve of her back until he could fit his fingers around the top half of her neck, gently and caressingly, putting her at ease.

"Yeah?" she purred, clearly relaxing as he pulled her away from the wall and brought her back to rest against his chest.

"What should I have them tell your parents when they come to identify you at the morgue?" he asked casually, waiting only a second as cogs moved into place within the girls brain.

"Wait," she started, finally conveying panic in her voice as she tried to turn and face him. "Wha-" The next question had only made it halfway out of her mouth when the sharp edge of Joker's knife dug into her soft neck, splitting the flesh and sinew. The over-confident girl gurgled and choked as blood began to spill from her neck but the Joker was not finished playing and turned her face him, staring deep into her eyes in the dark, glancing back and forth between them as life drained from them rapidly.

"Don't worry…I'll be sure to tell them how their daughter tried to seduce the most wanted man in the country." He growled evilly, finally releasing the girl so she fell to the ground, reaching up to her neck to try and stem the flow. Joker laughed at her futile attempt to stay alive, even after she had gone out of her way to risk her life for something she could go brag about to her sick little friends. He knelt down now, watching further as the girl's face started to go white and ashen.

As the Joker walked away a few minutes later, he did not look back, he did not think twice. The brave little girl now lay in the alley behind him, her face carved with a wide, new smile, sporting the word 'slut', cut sloppily across her forehead. If he had thought to bring a pen and paper, he would have left a note explaining how the dead girl had come to be dead, but his thirty minutes was beginning to grow to a close, Tre would be waiting at the predetermined location. But most importantly, Jayde and her pussy were likely to be worried, waiting anxiously yet patiently for him to come home…and loyalty deserved rewarding.

A/N: A short chapter, guys. But the next few scenes would have made this chapter impossibly long, if ya know what I mean. However, I did choose a song for the inspiration for this chapter, by Black Lab called 'This Night'. If you're a fan of the Joker and have not heard it, I recommend it _highly_. Thanks a lot for reading, but I have to say, the reviews on the last chapter were rather low! Lets not be lazy, guys. I need feedback in order to know what you guys are into or not into! So I'll say this: LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IN THE FORM OF A DETAILED REVIEW IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! NO UPDATE UNTIL I'VE GOT AT _LEAST _5! And the next chapter is already nearly half-way done…The destiny hangs with you, the readers. = ] -QoM


	26. Best Day Ever pt1

Hey guys, this is part one of a VERY long chapter. I didn't think it was fair to put out a thirty page chapter so I split it up. Plus a lot of you are waiting patiently for me to update and I didn't want to leave you all hanging. So enjoy! Part two should be out tomorrow or the day after.

Jayde had just forced herself not to glance at her phone for the fourth time in twenty minutes when she jumped, turning her head quickly toward the garage door when it flew open. Her heart skipped a beat when she remembered the same noise from the night before when Tre had practically carried him inside. This time, however, Joker seemed perfectly alive and well, barely limping as he strode across the bottom floor toward the couch where she was sitting. There was a crazed look about him as he approached that made Jayde recoil slightly as he held out a hand to her. A second later, his expression softened a bit, obviously trying to convey to her without speaking that she was not in trouble and that he was not going to hurt her if she followed him. So without a word, after taking a good long look at his eyes, Jayde placed her hand within his, allowing him to pull her up from the couch and over to the stairs.

At the bottom step, Jayde glanced over her shoulder to Tre who was now closing the door behind himself, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. A smirk flashed onto his features before it disappeared and he shrugged, sliding his pack of cigarettes from his pocket. By now, Jayde was forced to turn around when Joker reached the top of the stairs and pulled her over to the closed door to his office.

"Joker," she said his name, following him inside the room, kicking closed the door behind her. "What's going-…" Her following words hitched heavily in her throat when Joker pushed her against the back of the closed door with a loud thud, silencing her further a moment later when his lips crashed into hers. She hummed against him, tilting her head back when he took a step closer, looming over her as both of his hands reached out to curl tightly around her hips. He groaned against her mouth when he felt those familiar hipbones just over his thumbs and honestly, he could not have been more proud of himself for making the decision he had.

As though it had been choreographed, Joker pulled away just as Jayde tilted her head back further, tilting it to the side as he immediately lowered his head to sink his teeth into the soft skin there. Jayde gasped, reaching out to grip his forearms tightly from the shock of mingled pain and pleasure that had slithered its way down her spine. She was not left much time to respond before Joker pulled away from her neck, taking a step back, pulling her with him as he stepped further into the room. Opening her eyes, Jayde was only given a split second to react when Joker's hands reached out, one empty, the other wielding a bloodied knife. Her eyes grew wide just before he pressed the blade against the top of her shirt, making a small cut so he could rip it clean in half down the middle of the front, forcing another gasp from Jayde. His lips stretched into a toothy smirk as Jayde arched an eyebrow at his Tarzan-like approach to getting her clothes off.

A second later, Jayde had seemingly understood where he was wanting this to go so she took another step backwards until the small of her back came into contact with the cold, metal edge of his surgical table. She jumped at the contact but was again left no time to protest when Joker stepped up, still holding his knife, eyeing the middle strap of her bra hungrily. He seemed to think better of cutting it however and tossed his knife behind him blindly, putting his hands to better use by grabbing her hips to lift her onto the table. His lips met hers again as he reached out behind her, pushing papers and a first-aid kit onto the floor with a loud clatter. Jayde arched her back, parting her knees so he could stand in between them, but the moment she felt his hips between her thighs, something clicked inside her mind and suddenly she was ravenous.

Hasty, anxious hands reached out to him, hooking two fingers behind the already loosened knot of his tie, tugging hard on it until it came undone. With that discarded and tossed randomly to the floor, Jayde started on his buttons, trying confusedly to undo them neatly without looking. Her breathing had grown labored and heavy with anticipation, as all she could think about was getting the damn thing off of him so she could reach out and touch his bare chest. But upon reaching the third button, Jayde grew frustrated and resorted to tugging hard on either side of the fabric, ripping the remaining buttons from the shirt with several dull pops. A deep laugh escaped Joker as he watched her eyes travel down his now exposed chest, her hands following suit shortly after.

Unfortunately, Jayde was still wearing a pair of rather tight jeans but Joker was quick to push her onto her back along the table, unbuttoning them hastily and efficiently to tug them down and throw them across the room. Jayde sighed with a quiet whimper when his hands slid up her thighs, tickling her slightly with the rough calluses that lined the ridges of his palms. A second later, Jayde gasped when the entire surgical table dropped about six inches with a lurch, although the moment she opened her eyes and noticed Joker with a switch in his hand and a mischievous grin on his face, things started clicking into place. Rising onto her elbows, Jayde let her tongue trace her top lip lustfully as she watched Joker undo his pants, completely ignoring the fact that he was watching her enjoy this and she felt herself practically drooling when he wrapped his own hand around his dick.

Without a word, or even looking at her, Joker took one more half step forward, reaching out a finger to tug her thin underwear to the side, only to thrust himself into her a second later, as deeply as he could reach. Jayde could not stop herself from crying out, the reaction had been so instinctual and within seconds, she was breathing heavily in rhythm with Joker's strong, deep pace.

Joker watched Jayde writhe below him, remembering quickly back to how he had imagined fucking her on this table when they had first met. _I guess dreams really __**do **__come true…_he thought sarcastically, grunting an audible laugh to himself as he reached out with both hands, grabbing the top of Jayde's bra, only to wrench it down. The straps slid from her shoulders as the entire thing moved down, exposing her perfect handfuls and the erect, perfectly shaped nipples that came with them; there was just no way that girl in the alley could have looked better than this. Jayde gasped, arching her back as Joker leaned over her, bracing himself with his hand on the table next to her head as his mouth closed over her right nipple. Her hands twisted into his soft, tangled green waves as they fell across her chest and in front of his face, hiding his mouth from her, so Jayde reached out, pushing his hair out of the way so she could watch the way his tongue and teeth licked and bit at the sensitive flesh between them.

Just over the sound of her breathing and the pounding of her heartbeat in her head, Jayde could hear the clinking noise of Joker's pocket chain as it hit against the metal of the table in perfect time with his thrusts. She moaned at the simplicity of it and had just tilted her head back to close her eyes when Joker suddenly pulled out of her. Her eyes opened again but only for a second to see him lift his finger and whirl it around in a circle in the air as his eyes narrowed onto hers. Without even asking, Jayde knew this to be his instruction for her to turn over, so after scooting to the edge of the table, she dropped to her feet, only to turn her back to him and bend over the now warm metal. She gasped when Joker's hands pushed down hard on the middle of her back, arching it further as he entered her again, immediately swinging his hips into a rough, unbridled rhythm. A loud yelp escaped Jayde at the sensation but she cut herself off quickly, resorting to silence when she remembered that there was every chance Dotcom was in his room right across the hall and that Tre was downstairs. Joker seemed to notice her withholding and growled, reaching out to grip her hips tightly.

"No, girl, I _want _you to scream." He growled loudly. "I _want _them to hear…" As if in answer to his wishes, Joker brought his hand back only to slap her ass cheek as hard as he could, the sound of it echoing in the tiled room like the crack of a whip. Jayde squealed, tossing her long hair over her shoulder so she could look back at Joker and watch his hips as he thrust into her. He smirked, watching the side of her face, at her slightly dropped jaw before he groaned, squeezing hard on her hips with a machine-like grip. Unfortunately, Jayde did not seem to be taking his word to heart. "I said, _scream_, now." He growled, his voice deep and almost demonic sounding. A second later, his fingers reached around her hip to her clit and finally, Jayde obeyed him, rising onto her very tip toes as his name left her lips in a loud, somewhat raspy cry. "Mmm…" Joker groaned, closing his eyes. "_Yes?" _he then asked as though Jayde had only said his name to get his attention.

Joker's thrusts began to gain speed and intensity again and before long, he was staring down at what he was doing, fighting with himself on whether to go ahead and let himself finish or to keep this up for another hour. Honestly, his leg was starting to hurt a bit and if he was lucky, Jayde just might oblige him with another of her 'therapy sessions'. He closed his eyes, deciding to just let go and let his body take over now, shutting down his mind to relax every muscle in his body. It did not take long for it to catch up with him.

"_Fuck," _he gasped, bucking his hips several more times as he came, releasing into Jayde, relishing in the last little whimper she gave. He pulled out of her without hesitation, taking a staggered step back to lean against the cabinets at the wall behind him, breathing heavily. Jayde turned to him, brushing her damp curls away from her face as he shook his head violently for a second as though trying to clear out the fuzziness. Her ears were ringing as well, making Joker's deep laugh sound muffled.

"What…" she began, but paused to swallow, trying to catch her breath. "What was _that _for?" Across from her, Joker had just finished re-buttoning his pants and was laughing to himself, shaking his head as he watched her step back into her jeans.

"You wouldn't believe it if I told ya, kiddo." He answered, his dark eyes sparkling as she looked up at him, an inquisitive expression on her face. If he did not know her as well as he did, he would have given her time to ask another question, but he lifted his hand a moment later, motioning for her to follow him as he walked toward the office door. "Let's go to my room. I need a shower."

Out in the hallway, Jayde paused, holding up her torn shirt to the front of her. "Wait, I'm gonna go change my clothes," she told him, arching an eyebrow up at him. "…including my underwear…" Joker rolled his eyes with a smirk as he turned to continue into his room without a word, although he left his door slightly ajar. Jayde took that to mean that he would like her to join him when she was done. A silly smile flew onto her face as she turned to walk down to her bedroom.

A few minutes later, after rinsing off and putting on fresh underwear and pajamas, Jayde was stepping into the Joker's dim bedroom, grinning widely when she heard the shower running in the bathroom just on the other side of the room from her. She walked toward it, taking a deep breath in through her nose as the masculine scent of his soap floated into the bedroom on the steam. At the frame of the door, Jayde could hear him moving around in the shower, more than likely washing his hair as the rushing sound of the water hitting the tile seemed interrupted every once in a while. Without stopping to wonder if this was not a great idea, Jayde stepped into the bathroom, walking over to sit on the counter next to the sink, crossing her legs as she leaned back against the huge mirror.

"Try me," she said somewhat loudly over the sound of the water, tilting her head to the side as she tried to imagine what he was doing on the other side of the white shower curtain. He must have been washing his face or had not heard her enter the bathroom as he coughed slightly, clearly having inhaled some water through his nose.

"What's that, ya say?" he practically shouted, exaggerating greatly the volume Jayde had just used in her own voice. She laughed, folding her arms over her middle.

"You said I wouldn't believe it if you told me, so…try me."

From the way Joker groaned, it was clear he had been hoping she would not press the matter further but Jayde did not mind pushing his buttons then; he seemed to be in a good mood so she took advantage of it. On the other side of the shower curtain, Joker cleared his throat and Jayde's eyes flew up to where the curtain ended when she noticed one of his hands reach up for a second.

"You really wanna know?" he asked in a voice that suggested Jayde might really want to think about her answer and whether she really _did _want to know why he had come straight in and needed to fuck her. Without pausing to take any extra meaning from his word, Jayde nodded but then answered 'yes' when she remembered he couldn't see her. Joker took a deep breath in, rolling his eyes when he visualized the expression on her face when he got out of the shower and had finished his story. He could just imagine that childish way she would stomp out of the room and refuse to come back. But it had been her decision to push him into telling her so hypothetically, she had signed a waiver, taking any and all fault from Joker.

"_Well," _he began, exhaling heavily as he washed his face for the second time. "I had _just _blown up the parking garage next to MCU… _boring_, I know, but that's all I had time for…" he then muttered as though Jayde had been suggesting his attack was dull in some sort of way. "_Anyways_," he went on, shaking his head, figuring it would probably just be best to get it all out at once. "I was standing in an alley off fifty-sixth waiting to catch his wife and son and this _girl _came up behind me and…said she wanted to meet me, so I said _hi_, and then she…says she wants me to fuck her?" he cringed; this sounded one hundred times more ridiculous now that he was describing the incident out loud. At this, Jayde cut in.

"_Did you?"_ she asked, her voice suddenly dangerous. Joker's eyebrows furrowed.

"_No…"_ he answered in the same tone. "I gave her some money to get a cab home."

"You _did?" _

"No, I killed her." He then admitted as though Jayde had just caught him in a white lie. When she remained quiet, he made a defensive noise, raising his arms with a shrug of his shoulders at the wall like it was agreeing with him that she was being stupid. "That's why I came home and fucked _you_. I'm not gonna lie and say I wasn't _tempted_, but I didn't do anything…Honest."

A long moment of silence descended over the bathroom wherein Joker felt like banging his head against the tile for thinking it was a good idea to tell her the truth. There were so many other things, other lies he could have told to keep her happy and not hating his guts.

"Why didn't you?" she then asked, her voice a bit quieter as she stared down at the rug on the floor outside of the shower, raising her eyes slowly when she heard the shower shut off abruptly. A second later, his hand appeared around the curtain, reaching out to the dark blue towel on the rack next to it, only to pull it into the shower.

The curtain flew across the railing when Joker threw it out of his way, revealing the squeaky clean man behind it, the towel wrapped low around his hips. For a moment, Jayde almost forgot that she had asked him a question as she was thoroughly distracted by his clean, handsome face. Stepping out of the shower, he walked over toward the sink, bringing his hands up to rake into his clean, wet hair, combing it back away from his face as he leaned in, tilting his head to the side, frowning at his cheek. Jayde watched him but squeezed her eyes shut a second later when Joker suddenly shook his head as hard as he could to both sides, flinging excess droplets of cold water in every direction for several seconds. His hands then came to rest on either side of Jayde on the counter, staring closely at her eyes through the curtain of stringy green hair in his face.

"Because I thought of you." He answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Don't ask me why, 'cause I don't know." He shook his head slightly as his eyes rolled. "_Aaaand _because you're _way _hotter than her…" he then added jokingly, smirking as a wave of relief washed over him when Jayde giggled, wrinkling her nose as she wrapped her arms around his damp shoulders.

"Really?" she asked, grinning when Joker nodded, his eyebrow arched as though she had asked a stupid question.

"_Oh_ yeah…You're a babe."

While Joker dressed in the bathroom, Jayde tucked herself into his bed, flipping on his tv when she wondered if there was anything on the news about his most recent bombing. She had just found the primary news station when his bathroom door opened and he emerged, rubbing his towel over his head to dry his hair more. He let out a giggle when he noticed the footage from a cell phone's video camera being shown while the reporters talked about casualties and property damage. For being such a hasty retaliation, his attack was getting plenty of press and clearly, the city was on high alert…and here he was, fresh out of the shower, feeling good and relaxed…at _peace _even. When Jayde cleared her throat, he looked over from around the edge of the towel now laying over his head like a shawl, grinning mischievously when he noticed her watching him.

"You gonna sit down or wh-…" she began to say but stopped mid-word, frowning as Joker suddenly walked over to the door, opening it to slip outside quietly. Both of her hands flopped down on the bed on either side of her helplessly at his abrupt exit, wondering where on earth he could possibly be going now.

It was not long before he returned, grinning to himself as he shut the door behind him, reaching into the baggy pocket of a pair of black cotton pajama pants, very similar to his favorite gray ones. Jayde sat up, frowning from his face down to his hand and back up again until he grew closer and she noticed a rolled blunt peeking out from between his fingers. He must have noticed the expression on her face as he giggled, leaning down slightly only to jump as high as he could before landing heavily on his bed, right in his favorite spot. He sighed contentedly as he reached into the dresser drawer just next to him, pulling from within, a lighter and small glass ashtray.

Jayde smirked at him, watching his face closely as his eyebrows arched, staring down at the tip of the blunt in his hand, rotating it slowly in the flame to light all the edges of the paper. A second later, Joker placed the thin cigar between his lips, puffing on it a few times until a small cloud formed around his face, drifting up through his slowly-drying, wavy hair. So caught up in watching him intently, Jayde missed the fact that Joker had just taken a huge hit and had just noticed her staring. Leaning down slightly, he blew the smoke in her face hard, grinning when she coughed, choking on it.

Once Jayde recovered and Joker had taken another hit, he leaned back in his pillows, passing the lit blunt to her, watching her lips from the side as she brought the blunt to them. She inhaled deeply once she had hit it, closing her eyes as she held her breath for a few seconds, exhaling a moment later in a thin stream of leftover smoke. It had been over a month since Jayde had smoked with them and she had a feeling that the weed wrapped in that cigar was probably fairly strong, so after one hit, she handed it back to him. Her eyes raked over his flesh-toned, clean face as he closed his eyes, and only then did she notice the light freckles on the bridge of his nose. She ignored this for the time being, watching as he tilted his head back to sink into his pillows. The tiny glass ashtray was rested on his bare stomach and after taking a fairly large hit, he tapped the blunt over it, clearing the end of excess ash. A second later, Jayde's voice broke the silence.

"Have you ever slept with a black girl?"

At this, Joker tried to laugh and cough at the same time, choking slightly, as he sat up to grab the ashtray before it fell onto his bed or onto the floor. He was shaking his head with a frown as Jayde smirked.

"What the _hell_ made you think to ask that?" he asked in earnest interest, turning his head to stare down at her, his eyebrows furrowed, although he did not look mad. In fact, he looked rather amused; he had gotten used to her random questions a while ago. Jayde shrugged, taking the blunt from him as he held it out, waiting for a reply before he answered.

"I dunno, I just remember you saying that you and Tre lived in the ghetto for a long time…" she paused but then laughed, rolling her eyes when Joker continued to give her the most ridiculous look. "Nevermind, I think I'm high…" Finally, Joker snorted a laugh through his nose as he took the blunt back from her once she had hit it.

"Well, yes, if you must know, I have." He answered, shrugging his shoulders heavily, glancing over at Jayde, only to do a slight double-take at the expression on her face. "Why, have you?" he then asked somewhat hopefully but rolled his eyes when she shook her head, grinning, her eyes half-lidded. She remained quiet, hoping Joker would go on so she would not have to speak and admit how high and stupid she was feeling. "_Actually, _it's funny you ask that…" he started again, smirking to himself as he readjusted the blunt with his thumb nail, exhaling the smoke in his lungs through his nose. "I don't lose a lot of fights, but _one _in particular, I got my ass _beat_ because this huge black guy that lived down the street from Tre and I caught his wife at my house…in my bed.._._" Jayde's eyebrows raised as Joker cringed, shutting his eyes as if trying to see his memory. "I'm pretty strong but I didn't stand a chance against that guy…" his voice trailed off as he took a hit of the slowly burning blunt before handing it back to Jayde. His head cocked to the side as if he had forgotten she was there. "And what's _your _sexual history?" he asked brightly, blinking placidly at her as she looked up to glare at him. He tsk-ed, rolling his eyes at his 'mistake'. "Oh _right…_ I _am _your sexual history…"

Jayde rolled her eyes with a grin, scooting down further into the bed to lay on her back, handing the blunt to him, only to watch, mesmerized slightly as he put it out in the ashtray before sighing, reaching out to the remote to turn up the volume on his tv. But somehow, through the fog floating around her brain, Jayde realized that they had been talking, cordially, like friends for the first time in a while and she noticed then how much she missed it. So after casting around quickly for something else to ask him, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"When is your birthday?" she asked quickly, raising her eyebrows in an effort to force her eyes open more as Joker turned his head to frown down at her. His glossy, half-lidded eyes bounced back and forth between hers a few times before he turned back to the tv, clearing his throat.

"I don't have one." He answered, his voice flat and uninterested in the recent turn in topic of conversation, but beside him Jayde's mouth had fallen open in slight shock as she sat up completely, turning now to stare down at him. His eyebrows furrowed up at her before he growled, "_What?"_ Jayde shook her head incredulously.

"You don't have a birthday? You've never celebrated-…" she went to say but stopped when Joker shook his head, shrugging his broad shoulders.

"Nope and I don't care." He explained, gazing past her to the tv until he seemed to notice her continual gaping. His eyes slid to hers again. "Honestly, Jayde, I'm not losing sleep over it." Still, Jayde sat there, staring at him, rather dumbfounded by the thought of not ever hearing someone tell you 'happy birthday' or having a day of being catered to…or even having a damn cake? Her mind was fairly blown that Joker had never received a birthday present or really _any _present for that matter, since the odds of him celebrating Christmas seemed particularly low now. With a soft 'tsk', Jayde turned over onto her hands and knees, crawling a bit closer to Joker to lift her left leg and place it on the other side of him, straddling his hips to pull his attention from the tv immediately. He watched her do this, letting his eyes slide up from her hips to her face.

"Well, you know what tomorrow is?" she asked, leaning down slightly to smile excitedly at him as his eyes rolled upwards slowly.

"Tuesday." He answered after a pause, his voice clowny and raspy as he nodded once with finality. Jayde shook her head, bringing her shoulders in slightly as she leaned down further with her hands on his chest.

"It's your birthday tomorrow." She purred, rocking her hips forward, then back gently, pulling a delighted little growl from Joker as his hands found their favorite places. "And you know what good boys get on their birthday?" Joker shook his head, glaring up at her hungrily as she grinned down at him playfully, tracing her finger down the middle of his chest. "-Whatever they want."

Suddenly, Joker's fingers tightened their grip on her hips, pushing them down as he brought his hips up, grinding against her deeply. The top corner of his lip curled in that snarling smirk when Jayde gasped quietly.

"Remind me to be a good boy tomorrow."

When Jayde woke the next morning, she sat up quickly, not even glancing at the Joker next to her as she pushed the blankets off of her to crawl gently to the end of the bed. For some reason, after Joker's first 'birthday present', Jayde had seemingly decided it would be beneficial to only sleep in her pajama pants and leave her shirt where it lay on the floor at the foot of the bed. But now, as she shivered slightly, she wondered what could have possibly been her reasoning. Then again…she had been pretty high.

At the door to Joker's room, Jayde paused, listening momentarily for the sound of his gentle breathing to make sure he was still asleep. Luckily, it seemed he was, so she quickly opened the door, slipping out into the hallway before silently shutting the door behind her. Normally, the bright sunlight would have forced Jayde into submission and she would usually be cringing as she walked to the stairs, but this morning, there was an air of determination about her that blocked out the pain. Joker's 'first birthday' had to be the best day for him that it could possibly be. Fortunately, Tre and Dotcom were already awake, although one of them, Dotcom, was outside, leaving Tre in the kitchen, pouring a glass of orange juice. Trotting down the stairs toward him, Jayde made a noise like 'psst' at him, grinning excitedly when he looked over. His eyebrows raised in a very Joker-esque manner.

"So…" she began hesitantly at first, feeling a tiny bit of apprehension at the back of her mind now that she was so close to the one person who knew the Joker better than she did. There was every chance he could tell her that it's the dumbest idea he's ever heard. "Joker told me last night that he doesn't know what his birthday is and that he's never celebrated it. True?" Tre was keeping up and nodded once.

"True."

"So I want to establish today as his birthday, permanently. We don't have to have a cake or anything stupid, but if you could tell him happy birthday, that would…be awesome…" she slowed down at the end of her explanation, hesitant to stop talking as she had a feeling Tre was going to start laughing at her. Her jaw went slack a moment later when he grinned, nodding his head.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, girl." He answered, then laughed at the disbelieving expression on Jayde's face. "No, I'm serious. He's always celebrated my birthday with me, I guess I never really thought to have him pick a day to be his birthday." He laughed again, tossing his head back slightly. "You are too good to him, girl, I mean that."

After talking with Tre for another few minutes, Jayde walked over to the glass, patio doors, sliding it open to step outside and sit down across from Dotcom. He looked up at the sound, grinning sleepily at her as he took his glasses from the top of his head to place them on his nose. They both started speaking at the same time.

"Hey, did you sleep-"

"Today is Joker's birthday."

Dotcom's jaw went slightly slack and Jayde grinned as he decided to address what she had said first.

"Say what?" he asked, arching his eyebrow as she shrugged, pouting slightly.

"Dotcom, he told me last night that he didn't know what his birthday is…and that nobody has ever said 'happy birthday' to him." she answered, placing her hand over her chest; the thought of that truly saddened her. "And I feel _bad _for him!…So I picked today to be his birthday- April twenty-second." She paused, frowning when she noticed the look on Dotcom's face. "Just say happy birthday to him. It will mean a lot to me." she paused again but then rolled her eyes. "It wont mean shit to him, but it will to me."

Finally, after Dotcom had agreed to say it, Jayde bounced back inside and over to the stairs, climbing up quickly until she reached Joker's door. It was obviously still unlocked and after slipping inside the room, Jayde sighed when she heard his deep breathing again. But now, she stood there in his dim room, staring at his bed, wondering how best to wake him up. On one hand, she could crawl up there and kiss him on the cheek, scratch his back and coo 'happy birthday' but on the other hand, she could _jump _on his bed and yell it excitedly…Taking a deep breath, Jayde started laughing before she even made it to the bed, making her landing a little clumsy. Cracking up now, Jayde fell onto the bed, rolling onto her stomach to crawl up toward him as he groaned, cringing into his pillow, but she was already on her knees at his side, shaking his arm gently.

"It's your birthday!" she exclaimed quietly, leaning down further when Joker let out a loud, aggravated growl as he rolled further onto his side, pushing his face completely into the pillow and his folded arms.

"Ugh, Jayde…" he groaned, his voice extra deep and sleepy, muffled against the purple material of his sheets. . "I thought you were _kidding _about that…"

"No, I wasn't." she answered, laying down on her stomach just next to him to try and see his face from around the edge of his arm, but he had it thoroughly hidden. A second later, a frustrated little huff escaped Jayde at Joker's lack of enthusiasm. He moved his head back and forth a few times as he scratched an itch on his nose against his pillow.

"…Can my birthday be tomorrow, I've got _plans_ today…" he grumbled, keeping his face hidden as if it were some game of preventing Jayde from seeing him and he could not help but smirk when she whined like a frustrated puppy.

"_Noooo…_It has to be today." She answered, reaching up to wrap her hand around his wrist and tug gently, whimpering slightly when he resisted. "You can still do stuff on your birthday!" When this still received no response from Joker, Jayde tried a new tact. "If you let today be your birthday, I'll give you a really _great present…"_ she bribed hopefully. A second later, Joker shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh." He grunted indifferently. When Jayde scoffed, insulted, Joker finally let out a genuine laugh, lifting his head from the pillow as she folded her arms with her bottom lip stuck out. He turned his head to look at her but then groaned loudly, rolling his eyes as he flopped over onto his back. "FINE." He finally agreed, bringing the back of his forearm up to rest across his forehead groggily. "What do I have to do…"

"Just get dressed and come downstairs." Jayde instructed brightly, bouncing down from the bed as Joker let out another loud, dramatic groan, forcing himself into a sitting position like a zombie. His eyes were shut tightly, accompanying the sour, pouty expression on his face and Jayde laughed when she turned back to find his face scrunched up like a toddler about to cry. "Remember, you have to be a good boy to get any _presents."_ She reminded him softly, leaning forward to kiss him soundly on his cheek before she hopped away to the door, leaving Joker to fall back onto his bed heavily with a thump.

Fortunately, Jayde was already dressed in jeans and a shirt and was downstairs, pouring a glass of orange juice when Joker emerged on the second story, yawning as he limped vaguely. Quickly, she glanced over at Tre who was currently watching his best friend with a familiar, mischievous grin on his face; Jayde could tell he was about to give the Joker a run for his money.

"Happy birthday, there, big guy." He said sarcastically not even three seconds later, baring his impossibly white teeth at Joker as he groaned loudly, tossing one hand as he stepped off of the stairs.

"You _told _him?" he asked, looking to Jayde who nodded, walking over with the glass of orange juice to set it on the table next to him as he sat down heavily.

"Of course I did! It's your birthday, what's the point in them not knowing?" she answered, patting him lightly on the top of his head, ignoring the glare he sent after her as she walked back to the kitchen. Joker then looked to Tre, sending him an incredibly fake smile.

"_Thanks, _Tre…" he growled, taking a sip of his orange juice. "I need your phone…gotta get in contact with our guy out at the air fields."

Once Tre had gone into his room, Joker was just taking another long drink of orange juice when Dotcom came around the corner out of the kitchen, smirking at Joker. "Happy birthday, boss." He said as simply and friendly as possible, although he frowned, glancing over at Jayde as Joker shook his head with another toss of his arm.

"Do you guys have to say that every time you see me, all day?" he asked of both Jayde and Dotcom and at first, she laughed as if he had been kidding but at the somewhat blank look on his face, she realized he really didn't know how this whole day was supposed to go. Part of her wanted to say yes and tell Dotcom and Tre to say it to him every five minutes just as a joke, but she had a feeling Joker would fucking lose it by lunch time. She shook her head as she walked over, smiling sympathetically at him.

"No, once is enough. Everyone's done saying it now." After glancing at Dotcom, Jayde sat down across from Joker, folding her arms on the table to lean forward slightly, watching his scowling face as he flipped through his phone. "Um, is it alright if Dotcom and I go to the city?" she went on to ask lightly, although the second she finished speaking, she practically cringed; Joker never let her be vague.

"_Why?" _he asked with perfect timing, bringing his attention away from the phone slowly to slide his eyes up to hers. His eyebrows raised a second later as he waited for her answer. She stammered at first, glancing over at Dotcom again for help although he was clearly just as lost as she was. Lying to the Joker was not an easy thing to do, even if it was not about anything bad. A moment later, she sighed in disappointment, her shoulders slumping.

"'Cause I want to get you something."

"No." Joker immediately protested, shaking his head back and forth adamantly. "We have to leave here at four and I don't need you out-…" he was explaining but now that Jayde was slightly irritated, she found it easier to interrupt him as she stood up from the table slowly.

"No, we're going. We'll be back in an hour, not even. I just need to go one place. Ok?" she asked, taking a cautious step closer to him as his eyebrows practically met in the middle of his forehead, his eyes small and narrowed up at hers as she reached out somewhat hesitantly to pat him gently on the shoulder. "Just…sit there and…sulk for a while." At this, Joker actually laughed, sliding his eyes closed to tilt his head back as Jayde stood there, watching him anxiously. "I really think you'll-…"

"Go!" he suddenly yelled, motioning toward the door with both of his hands, opening his eyes. Finally, Jayde scooted away from him, over toward the garage door to join Dotcom, who had already stepped outside. Joker watched her go, resting the side of his face in his hand with his elbow on the table but when she reached the door, she turned to look at him, puckering her lips to send a kiss in his direction, just before she disappeared. The tiniest of obnoxious grins slid onto his face. _God damnit…_

"Ya know, if I order a stripper in a giant cake, you _can't _kill her…" said Tre, walking around the table from behind Joker to plop down into the chair across from him. Joker rolled his eyes to glare at his friend, hoping to convey without words that he was about three seconds from killing him. When Tre simply grinned toothily at him, Joker groaned, reaching up to rub his forehead deeply with the tips of his fingers.

"I can't believe you let her do this." He grumbled, moving on to rub his eyes as Tre laughed.

"Ya kidding? I told her it was a great idea." He answered, laughing again harder when Joker suddenly brought his head up, staring at him, wide-eyed. "C'mon, bro, just let her do her thing today. Its making her happy to think that…she's…helping you in some way." When Joker opened his mouth to protest, Tre shook his head, cutting across him. "I know, I know, you don't think she's helping you but the point is, _she _does…" Tre's forehead furrowed as he arched one of his notched eyebrows. "Just play along. Look- think of it as an excuse to get anything you want from her today. That's really the only awesome thing about a birthday- ya get more ass than a toilet seat." Joker's eyebrows relaxed.

"…How profound." He growled sarcastically after a pause, watching Tre as he stood up with a roll of his eyes. "Did you ever think of writing cards for Hallmark?…'Cause if this whole 'criminal' thing doesn't work out for you…"

"Man, shut up…"

An hour later, the heavy, black Escalade bounced along dirt roads as Jayde and Dotcom laughed at the expression they both were imagining on the Joker's face if they were to surprise him with a huge, obnoxious cake or to attempt to sing 'Happy Birthday' to him. But in lieu of the usual festivities that normally surrounded someone's birthday, Jayde and Dotcom agreed to just have an exceptionally good dinner that night and the present she had chosen for him would have to wait until she could get him completely alone for the night. As they approached the giant house, she mentally chose a spot in her room to hide it until the opportune moment arrived.

The bottom floor was mercifully empty, leaving Jayde with an easy job of trotting over to the stairs and up into her room, straight over to the closet to the very back corner where her coats hung. After tucking the small box into one of the pockets, she grinned accomplishedly at the line of clothes, convincing herself determinedly that he was going to love it before she turned to walk back out into her room and shut the door behind her. A second later, she jumped as Joker seemingly appeared out of thin air, over by her door. He was smirking calmly, watching her face as a guilty grin moved into place.

"Hey, no peeking." She said playfully, tucking her thumbs into her back pockets to rock back on her heels as Joker took another step into the room, glancing around.

"Say, do you want to…I dunno…join me?…Out?…" he asked in an somewhat cautious sort of way, almost like a nervous teenager asking someone to the prom. After a pause, he held up a hand, cringing as though he had forgotten to add a stipulation. "Before you answer, you should know…you don't have a choice, so…" Jayde laughed, taking a step closer to him to squint her eyes slightly, tilting her head back a bit to look up at him. Her hands found places on the back of her hips.

"Are you asking me on a date?" she asked, watching his eyes skeptically as he took a deep breath, bringing his shoulders up as he inhaled, only to drop them a moment later when he exhaled heavily.

"I suppose…one could call it-…" he began to answer but Jayde shook her head.

"You know, _I'm _supposed to ask _you _out on your birthday." She corrected him, now moving to fold her arms, arching an eyebrow as Joker tossed his hands, licking his lips.

"Alright, let me rephrase…Do you want to take _me _out today? 'Cause I really do have some stuff I gotta do…" he leaned down slightly as his voice began to grow raspy and clowny but Jayde quickly nodded, grinning up at him, leaving him no time to get irritated.

"Yeah, I would like that."

So after establishing that she should be dressed and downstairs by three-thirty, Joker left her room, leaving Jayde to hop back over to her closet to find a dress or at least something nice to wear. There was an incredibly good chance that Joker's 'date' would involve terrorizing Gotham in some way or intimidating someone but none the less, it was his 'birthday' and she wanted to look good. Plus, she had been noticing, with the help of Dotcom, that it seemed Joker liked to somewhat show her off when she was out with him and as much as she wanted to dislike that, the idea that he thought so highly of her was encouraging. So after deciding on a slimming white, knee length dress and those purple heels Joker had stolen for her when she had first come to the house, she stepped into the bathroom for a shower after getting out her blow dryer and big, fat curling iron.

At around three o'clock, after Jayde had finished her hair and was putting on some makeup, Dotcom stepped into her room, knocking on the frame to announce his arrival, unlike Joker, who had developed a nasty habit of just appearing in her room whenever he deemed necessary. She glanced over in the mirror, smiling as he approached, shaking his head at the way the white dress really emphasized her curves. But just as he was noticing her, Jayde was glancing down at the camouflage pants and shiny black calf-height boots he was wearing. She was about to ask when he rolled his eyes.

"Today is kind of a big deal. One of his 'plagues'." He explained, shrugging his shoulders, although it was obvious he knew exactly what the plan was but had been firmly instructed not to tell her. It was polite of him to play it down so Jayde wasn't jealous. She shook her head, leaning toward the mirror to lightly trace the waterline of her bottom eye lid, matching it to the other side before she capped the eyeliner.

"Whatever. I'm just glad he's humoring me and playing along with this whole birthday thing." She answered, shrugging her shoulders as she lifted her hair so Dotcom could zip the back of her dress. "He's being an awfully good sport, which is…_so _unlike him…Should I be worried?" she then asked Dotcom, glancing at his eyes in the mirror as he snorted a laugh.

"Honestly, I think he's just trying to get in your pants…Again…" he sighed with a gay little flick of his wrist as he followed her out of the bathroom and out into the hallway. "I'm gonna have to sleep in your room again tonight, honey." Both laughed loudly but quieted when they spotted Joker and Tre, both standing with their backs to them, seemingly staring out at the patio, both with their arms folded over their chests. Jayde and Dotcom watched as Joker murmured something, glancing over at Tre who nodded an agreement of some sort. A second later, Joker turned to face them, tossing his hands.

"WOW!" he exclaimed. "_You _look ravishing." He then complimented and Jayde was just about to start blushing when he added, "Jayde, you look great too, doll." She huffed jokingly, sticking her nose in the air as she walked over to him, looking up at him only a bit as her heels added a good amount of height. Joker seemed to like this perspective and smirked at her as he let his arm snake around her waist, gliding over her dramatic curve in that tight, white dress. Jayde took a deep, slow, silent breath in through her nose, inhaling as much of his subtle cologne as she could without making it obvious. She glanced down when he turned to face the patio again. Not only did he smell great, but honestly, he looked pretty good too. He seemed to have decided it was getting a bit too warm to wear his heavy purple or black coats outside during the day and had resorted to a pair of plain black pants, a white Oxford button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a gray vest that he had left tastefully undone. A plain black tie was loose and slightly crooked against his chest. All of this Jayde was admiring, admitting to herself how damn good they looked together when a loud choppy, roaring noise shook the entire house, growing louder by the second.

It seemed this was the cue Joker and Tre had been waiting for and simultaneously moved toward the patio doors as an absolutely monstrous black helicopter appeared, lowering slowly and precisely into the wide stretch of grass beyond the patio. So completely blown away by the randomness of it, Jayde's jaw went slightly slack in mild shock but there was clearly no time for her to start asking questions as Joker reached back for her hand, taking it in his to pull her along with them.

The sound of the blades beating the air grew deafeningly loud once they had stepped out onto the patio but Jayde was less concerned for her ears than she was about her hair; Joker didn't seem to mind his being blown all over the place. It seemed Dotcom and Tre had not been meant to ride in this particular helicopter as they both promptly walked around the edge of the house to the garage to disappear into the Escalade. This left the Joker to pull Jayde along with him as a man with a pilots helmet and headset climbed out to duck over and shake his hand. Jayde tried to hear their exchange of shouted words over the roar of the blades over head but the noise was too great, downing out their voices. A moment later, Joker turned to Jayde once the man had climbed back into the helicopter.

"Ready?" he nearly shouted, his eyebrows raised, his eyes practically alive with excitement as the black rings around his eyes stretched. Jayde shook her head, glancing past him to the flying machine.

"I cant!" she cried in reply, trying to take a step back but his grip on her hand was tight and moved to her wrist seconds later as his excited expression fell a bit. "I'm afraid of heights!"

For a second, Joker paused, biting on his lip as he stared down at her eyes, his gaze flying back and forth between them, trying to decide if it would be considered 'nice' to pull her into the helicopter forcefully, resisting against her kicking and screaming. Instead, he compromised. "Think of it as a birthday present to me!" he suggested, watching her eyes hopefully as she stared up at him. Finally, after weighing her nonexistent options, Jayde allowed him to pull her closer to the open back door, waiting for him to climb in, before he helped her join him. She wasn't sure exactly what he had in store, but Jayde a feeling this would not be an ordinary date, even though she was starting to learn that life alongside the Joker was _everything_ but ordinary.

...To be continued...

A/N: I just wanted to shout out my best reviewers and thank you all for reading and leaving reviews. (if you are one of the awesome people that actually does it) Ahem, clownqween89, elaan basevi, tomieharley, kina1234, BeautifulAnabellee, thejokersgotmyheart and wolves-rain-chick. You guys really help keep me going with this story. I appreciate you all more than you know. And of course, anyone else that has left a review that I forgot to mention, thank you too. But as always, I'm still looking for constructive feedback so please leave me a review! LEAVE YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT PART TWO! -QoM


	27. Best Day Ever pt2

A/Warning: There is an extensive, birthday sex scene in this one. Be advised.

The moment the helicopter began to lose contact with the safety of the ground, Jayde started to feel queasy but it was hard to stay focused on that feeling when beside her, Joker was acting slightly like a dog that had just gotten invited to ride in the 'C-A-R'. His knee was bouncing out of control as the co-pilot turned around to hand him two small headsets and after Joker had put his on, he handed the other to Jayde, glancing between it and her face as she stared at him. A moment later, when she did not respond, he reached out, forcing the small headphones and microphone around the back of her head. Jayde was about to hit him but paused when she noticed an immediate absence of the sound of the roaring, chopping blades above, leaving a crisp, clear near-silence. Joker was smirking, watching her face as she relaxed a tiny bit.

"Now, isn't that better?" he asked, his voice sounding clear but raspy as it came through the headphones. She nodded, but then shook her head as she kept her eyes trained on him to keep from accidentally glancing out of one of the huge windows.

"Yeah, but I'm still not looking out!" she answered, shaking her head when Joker suddenly whipped around from the window, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why not?" he cried, holding out his hands at the interior and distant exterior of the helicopter. "How do you not think this is _awesome?"_

Jayde had just glanced at the back-side profiles of the two men in front when one of them half-turned to look back at them, and she noticed that they were wearing the same camo pants and black t-shirt that both Dotcom and Tre wore.

"When are we droppin' again, boss?" he asked, glancing at Jayde as he must have realized she could hear his voice clearly now through the head set. Joker tore his attention away from the window to glance at his watch and look over.

"Choppers one and two are dropping at four-thirty, choppers three and four go at four-forty. Time is four-eighteen now so get us over toward Main and Lincoln." Joker glanced at Jayde as he finished his instructions, only to find that her face had once again grown rather drawn and anxious. He sighed, shaking his head with a smirk. "You are such a _baby_." He noted, reaching out to wrap his fingers around her wrist and force her closer to him. "C'mon…Look." At first, Jayde had half a mind to scoot as far away from him along the back seat as possible but she figured if she was going to be close to a window, she might as well have him in between her and the door. So she scooted as close to his side as she possibly could without sitting in his lap, only to gasp slightly at what she saw, glancing up at him as he watched her face, grinning.

"Wow…" she breathed, her eyes soaking in the view of the huge buildings and tiny streets and cars below them. The late-afternoon sun was bright, bouncing warm, yellow beams of light off the numerous windows. The air conditioning units on the tops looked like tiny, toy blocks and if Jayde really strained her eyes, she could just see minute, ant-like people walking, crossing the street or entering and leaving a store or building; the city seemed to be bustling. Joker laughed, motioning to the window.

"_See?" _he growled into the microphone against his cheek. Jayde nodded, crossing her right leg over her left knee to lean against him, resting one of her hands on the crook of his elbow as he sat comfortably with his hand rested over her knee. It was very unlike him to want to sit with her like this, especially in such close quarters to two of his 'minions', but Jayde pushed the uncertainty into the back of her mind, resolving herself to just enjoy it and not worry about intentions. She was finally feeling more relaxed with being up in the air, high above the city and honestly, she was immensely grateful that the Joker was in an extraordinarily good mood; he had the potential to make this helicopter ride a living nightmare for her.

"Alright, boys, we should see chopper one any minute now, take us in a wide circle around this intersection until we see 'em." Joker instructed, bringing his hand from Jayde's knee to his vests inside pocket where he produced a small radio and tiny earpiece a moment later. Jayde watched him take off the helicopters head set, honestly a little glad that Joker had left her out of this plan; it was _very _entertaining, trying to guess what she was supposed to be watching for. With her head set on, Jayde could not hear what Joker was saying into the radio and certainly could not hear a reply but she tried to read his lips from the side as he spoke into it, his eyes glancing out of the window next to him. A second later, he took the ear piece out to put his headset back on.

"Chopper one is dropping in ten seconds, fellas! Watch for it, now!" he told the guys before he turned to Jayde, his eyebrows raised as he pointed to the window on the other side behind her. Jayde turned quickly, her eyes immediately spotting another helicopter approaching in the distance quickly, a long cable extended beneath it. An absolutely enormous basket of some kind hung below it. At the last second, the helicopter dipped, lowering it's basket gradually. "Three…two…_one…"_ Joker growled, sliding over behind Jayde now to watch. She jaw dropped as the basket opened up, showering an immense amount of water along the long, main boulevard. Turning to him, her mouth was agape. "No, wait!" he exclaimed, pointing at the window. Another helicopter was zooming along coming toward them, though probably a hundred feet lower as it sent another shower of water along the intersecting street.

"Why water?" she asked him, furrowing her eyebrows when a second later, he broke into a loud laugh, joined shortly by the two pilots in the front seats. He slapped his knee a few times, shaking his head.

"_Water?_ " he repeated, giggling breathlessly. "That's _lye, _sweetie pie." He then growled, bouncing his eyebrows as a slightly sick feeling returned to the pit of Jayde's stomach. She knew it was beyond impossible but Jayde almost felt as though she could hear the screams coming from the streets below from mutilated burn victims, hysterical and panicked. Beside her Joker was giggling to himself, placing that tiny ear piece in his right ear again, though this time he had left the other head set around his neck on his shoulders, leaving the microphone up near his chin; Jayde did not glance over when she heard him speaking.

"Tre, go back to the airfield right now. Take the two pilots out then get outta there and take the long way back to the house. Jaybird and I are heading back." She heard him say, but only once she heard the rustle of the helicopters head phones did she look over at him to find him staring out past the window next to him, bouncing his knee again but otherwise looking more relaxed. He must have felt her watching him as he looked over a second later, arching his eyebrows when Jayde smiled, inching closer to him along the backseat. Joker glanced at the door beside him before back at Jayde sliding away from her by a few inches. His hand rested on the metal handle that opened the door. She ignored this, closing the remaining distance to slide her arm under his and link her hands together over his forearms, giggling when he rolled his eyes. Her hand reached up to wrap around the end of the microphone, preventing the pilots from hearing her.

"Are you having a good birthday?" she asked in nothing short of a shout, only to grin when Joker shrugged, shaking his head slightly.

"I dunno, am I?" he asked in response through the microphone, smirking down at her from the corner of his eye as she rolled her eyes, grinning to herself as she turned to stare out the opposite window.

Surprisingly, the ride back to the grassy field beyond the house did not seem to take as long as the ride away from it and before Jayde even knew what was going on, the metal supports beneath the helicopter were touching back down gently. The grass all around them was rippling and flattened against the tremendous wind coming from the blades and Jayde had just realized it kind of looked like Joker's hair when she felt Joker's finger nudge her ever so faintly against the side of her leg. Frowning, she looked down before over at him but half way between her leg and his face, she noticed the long, black barrel of a shot gun in her peripheral vision. Her breath hitched in her throat when she turned her head slowly toward the younger of the two guys. Joker laughed, narrowing his eyes on to the young man's, licking his lips slowly.

"Really? But I thought we were having _such _a nice time, fellas…" he growled, cocking his head to the side as the younger guy and the other pilot chuckled.

"We like ya, Boss. But we know how you are, we heard about Matt, Trey and Howie…" he said, his eyes flying to Jayde before back to Joker's. "So you guys just get out and go inside…and we'll be on our way." Another short laugh left Joker before he reached for the door handle, keeping his eyes locked onto the co-pilot's as he opened the door.

"Well, woman, you heard the man," he turned finally with a chuckle, reaching out to the wall of the helicopter to help himself step out and down, holding out his hands for Jayde to take. Only once she had made it fully from the back of the cockpit did the incredibly ballsy young man put his gun down and the blades of the helicopter began to speed up and beat the air again, lifting it slowly from the ground. Joker pulled Jayde away toward the patio, forcing her to follow him inside, past the table, past the kitchen, over to the garage door and out into the driveway. His hand reached into his vest pocket again as he pulled out a small, blinking device, only to turn it over in his hand, glancing up at the retreating helicopter as he flipped a tiny switch. "_Happy birthday to me…"_ he sang quietly to himself, watching the sky as Jayde gasped, looking out over the vast field. At first, nothing happened and Joker was still singing. "_Happy BIRTHDAY dear Joker…" _

Suddenly, the early evening sky was lit up in a ball of fire as Jayde jumped with a gasp, clapping her hand over her mouth as the helicopter exploded in mid-air, showering the forest below it in smoking shrapnel. Beside her, Joker burst into a loud, manic laughter, doubling slightly as he laughed at the ground. She watched, wondering to herself how on earth she had ever thought he would let two of his minions get away with putting a gun in his face.

"NOW I'm having a good birthday!" he shouted, clapping his hands a few times as the giant black Escalade pulled into the driveway, crunching the gravel noisily. Joker walked over toward it, adjusting his tie pompously as the truck stopped and Tre and Dotcom climbed out, one shaking their head, the other, scowling.

"Man, are you kidding me?" Tre began, walking over toward the garage where Joker stood a few feet from Jayde, still giggling. "We saw that almost a mile up the road! You know how many people probably saw-," He was complaining, but Joker did not seem to be listening as he bent down and picked up a handful of small rocks before he threw it at Tre hard, pelting him with gravel as he went to turn away. "The FUCK?"

"Lighten _up, _Tre! There's nobody around for miles!" he exclaimed, throwing words in between deep breaths and laughter but a second later, he let out a cackle as Tre bent down for a handful of rocks in retaliation but Joker was already running off into the stretch of grass. Tre took off after him, forcing a high-pitched scream from Joker as he sped up, trying to dodge the gravel Tre had thrown and most of it managed to hit him but he was too busy howling with laughter as his best friend chased him. Dotcom had walked over to Jayde and now both stood there smirking as the guys played like two dogs in the yard, shouting curses and it was obvious that Tre was maybe a little bit faster than Joker. He was gaining ground when Joker changed directions into a patch of dirt, bending down quickly for another handful of earth, which he promptly threw at Tre, nearly tripping over himself as he cackled. By now, Jayde and Dotcom felt like they had seen enough and rolled their eyes at each other, turning to go into the house and start dinner.

While Dotcom decided on what to make, Jayde considered going to change out of her dress and heels but she noticed that the dress really was fairly comfortable and it was obvious Joker loved the way it made her hips look…It _was _his birthday, after all. She had just come back downstairs from putting the purple heels in her closet when the garage door burst open and in traipsed Tre, followed closely by the Joker, who's white shirt and gray vest now bore a long vertical grass stain from his right shoulder, on down his side to his hip. They both seemed slightly winded and Jayde was just about to open her mouth to ask when Joker shook his head hard, blinking a few times.

"Tre was just showing me how _linebackers_ tackle people." He explained when he noticed Jayde staring at his disheveled appearance and he tossed a dirty look over his shoulder at Tre before he looked back to Jayde, nodding his head in his direction. "Very strong, that one. Make an _excellent _field hand…" Jayde snorted a laugh, her eyes immediately growing wide as she glanced at Tre, hoping he wasn't about to get mad at her for laughing at Joker's incredibly racist joke. Luckily, he must have grown used to comments like that from his best friend and clearly understood them as nothing more than jokes as he walked away, rolling his eyes.

Once Tre disappeared into his room and Joker had gotten his glass of ice water, he retreated into the living room, pinching Jayde on the ass as he went. The tv was still on the news station from the last time someone had turned it on so he propped his mis-matched, socked feet on the coffee table in front of him, draining half the glass before he set it down on the table next to him. Of course, news of the acid attack had already spread and now footage of an absolutely trashed avenue and intersection were being shown, images of burn victims from afar being ushered into ambulances by paramedics in hazard suits. He took a deep breath in through his nose before he exhaled slowly a moment later, smirking to himself. Tre's voice tore his attention from the tv and he tilted his head all the way back to look at him upside down. He was waving a blunt.

"Wanna get high?"

Joker nodded once.

"Why, yes I do."

When Jayde stepped onto the porch fifteen minutes later, Joker was giggling, scrunching up his nose to wrinkle the leftover greasepaint there as Tre joined him in the laugh from the other side of the table. They both looked up as she took a step toward them, placing her hands on her hips as they snickered.

"Dinner is almost ready." She announced, glancing from Tre to Joker as he let his glossy, half-lidded eyes travel up and down her slowly. His finger reached out to the tight, pencil-skirt bottom of her dress, sliding it underneath the material over her knee.

"Really…" he growled but snorted with laughter again as she batted his hand away, turning on her heel to march back inside, leaving the two of them to be stoned and silly. While their behavior was a hop, skip and a jump from 'annoying', Jayde found their antics somewhat endearing, giving her a glimpse of how immense their friendship really was. She rolled her eyes to herself as she joined Dotcom in the kitchen again.

By the time the boys had come back inside from the patio, the entire house reeked of freshly made food and although dinner at the house normally meant everyone just eating when they felt like it and where they felt like it, Jayde was hoping things could be different that night. Of course, she wasn't really sure how to bring up the fact that she would like everyone to eat together without getting laughed at so she stayed quiet, hoping things would just sort of…happen that way. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Jayde and Dotcom had just finished eating at the table when it seemed Tre and Joker decided they actually were hungry and went to the kitchen but then settled back down at the table by the couch a few minutes later, eating in silence as they watched a show called 'Gangland'. She wanted to be annoyed at this, but it really seemed Joker would rather have it that way than to make some formal thing of it.

Finally, once all the plates had gone into the washer, once Joker had gone upstairs to shower and change his clothes, once Tre had disappeared into his room and once Dotcom had finished the pots and pans, the boss was whistling shrilly through his teeth as he trotted down the stairs like Captain Von Trapp calling for the children. Jayde looked over but felt her stomach flip inside of her when she noticed that he had washed his face and hair and was looking more 'normal' than ever. She grinned at him when he noticed her staring and made a bee-line toward her, lowering his head to glare at her from under the ridge of his arched eyebrows.

"Come sit at the table, now!" he shouted to Dotcom and Tre, keeping his eyes narrowed on Jayde as he reached her, sliding his hands onto her hips to the small of her back. She tilted her head back, sighing when a fresh, vague wave of his cologne met her senses. "Got a little…_talking _to do…" he then growled as though still speaking to the others, even though his voice was low and directed at her. Jayde shivered slightly when his nose nudged the side of her neck lightly, followed by a soft, quick kiss a second later; she positively melted.

Within moments, both Dotcom and Tre had appeared by the table, sitting as they forced themselves not to look over at Joker and Jayde by the kitchen. Joker pulled away from her neck, clapping his hands together once as he approached the chair at the head of the table, patting the spot next to him to indicate he would like her to sit there. His hands folded in front of him as he leaned forward.

"Today's events have…_inspired _me." he began in a raspy growl, his eyes trained on a spot on the table as rapid thoughts went flying through his mind. "I feel like there's a lot of potential for a bit of an expansion on this diabolical plan of mine. I'd like for you two to set up a meeting at the warehouse on dock fifteen for Friday night," he instructed, glancing from Dotcom to Tre and back again. "Send out messages to our groups to meet there at eleven. I'll need both of you to be there ahead of time with our metal detectors-…" he paused, shaking his head as he laughed. "I'm getting ahead of myself. We'll go over the particulars tomorrow." With that, he glanced at Jayde, eyeing the visible half of her body as she sat there, staring at him expectantly. He took a deep breath, looking to Tre and Dotcom again. "In the mean time, you two might wanna scram for the night, 'cause…I'm about to tear this one apart." His thumb pointed at Jayde as she coughed into her glass of water, raising her eyebrows in shock as she looked to the other two, who were both now rolling their eyes and grumbling as they stood up from the table.

"Joker!…" she hissed at him quietly, blushing deeply as he stood up, stretching his arms over his head with a groan. His eyebrows raised as he leaned down slightly.

"_Jayde!…"_ he whispered back hoarsely, but held his hand out before she had a chance to scold him. "C'mon."

With her hand in his, Jayde allowed Joker to lead her over to the stairs, to the top where he moved to go down the hall to his room but she stopped, gasping when she remembered something. He paused and turned to face her, arching his eyebrows when she started grinning widely.

"Ok, go to your room. I gotta go get something. I'll be there in a second." She explained, reaching over with her other hand to peel his fingers from around hers, giggling. Finally, with a suspicious scowl, Joker let her go and continued on to his room, although once inside, he immediately walked to his bed with a heavy sigh and threw himself onto it like a rag doll. A second later, he pushed himself up to his hands and knees, remembering the 'birthday blunt' Tre had awarded him with after dinner. It had been in his front jeans pocket and as he reached for it, he hoped sincerely he would not have to tuck his tail between his legs and go down to Tre with a broken cigar in his hand. Luckily, it came out in one piece and Joker was just setting it lightly on his nightstand when the door opened and Jayde stepped in, shutting it behind her to stand against it, her hands behind her back. She grinned stupidly as she took a couple steps toward him.

"Ok, close your eyes…" she instructed playfully to Joker as he sat up.

"No." he answered flatly a second later, placing his hands in his lap as he sat indian style. Jayde rolled her eyes with a huff, sitting down on the bed across from him and Joker jumped slightly as she tossed a narrow black box into his lap. Joker's eyebrows practically met in the middle of his forehead as he lifted the box to look at it, eyeing the purple ribbon, complete with bow, examining it as though it were a bomb. A fake smile began to creep onto his face. "I've always wanted a box, Jayde, how'd you know?" he rasped sarcastically. Jayde sighed exasperatedly, closing her eyes.

"Stop being an asshole and open it." She commanded, sliding her eyes open again slowly, ignoring the dark look he sent her way by keeping her eyes fixed on the box in his hand. Finally, he sighed, tugging on one end of the ribbon to pull it off and slowly open the box; the partially annoyed expression on his face slid out of view. Inside the box sat a perfect, silver switch-blade knife, carved and stained with a purple and black design laid into the handle. The blade was open already as he took it from the box, turning it over in his hand, scowling at it while Jayde sat across from him, practically crawling with anxiety; there was a good chance it might not meet his knife criteria.

Her heart beat had just begun to quicken when he looked up, opening his mouth to say something but of course, he closed it again a second later, looking back down at the brand new knife in his hand. He turned it over again, clearly unsure and fighting himself on how to react. He looked up a few moments later, clearing his throat somewhat awkwardly.

"I uh-…don't know what…" he admitted, his voice clear and deep. It seemed he was about to force himself to go on but Jayde cut across him, sparing him the uncertainty.

"Just say thank you." She supplied for him, smiling up at him sweetly as he laughed, shaking his head.

"Thank you." He finally answered, then arched one eyebrow as he glanced from the knife to her face. "Does this mean I get to try it out on you?" he then asked, his eyes bouncing back and forth between hers rather hopefully as Jayde giggled, shaking her head.

"No, it does not."

Joker squinted, cocking his head to the side. "So does that mean I have to kiss you instead?" he then asked, wrinkling his nose as though the thought made him uncomfortable and she giggled, nodding her head. "Fine." He sighed, flipping open the knife again as he leaned back into his pillows, beckoning her closer with his pointer finger around the new toy in his hand. "C'mere."

At first, Jayde hesitated as she glanced at the shiny knife but boldly rocked forward, moving to rest on her hands and knees, crawling closer to him slowly until she had made it to his side. She leaned down, eyeing the deep scar in the middle of his bottom lip, forcing herself not to shiver when the tip of his tongue traced it quickly a moment later. She jumped when his deep voice broke her from her trance.

"Don't be _shy…" _he crooned, following the movement of her eyes with his own as she looked up at him. When she did not move, he reached out, sliding his hand into her hair gently, only to tighten his grip taught, pulling her face closer to his forcefully. Jayde mouth fell open a bit as she exhaled, blinking slowly in an effort to keep perfectly still when she felt the very tip of Joker's new knife press against her neck, just below her jaw. Finally, Joker pressed his lips to hers gently, relaxing his grip on her hair so she could fall into him a bit, deepening their kiss as his tongue immediately snuck out to just lightly grace against her top lip. At this, Jayde let herself shiver slightly, once again amazed with his ability to change his demeanor with record speed and she had just let her hand come to rest on his chest when a sharp, pin-prick pain at her neck forced her to pull away with a gasp. Joker was grinning.

"Woops…" he growled, once again tightening his grip on her hair, forcing her head to the side to expose the tiny cut he had made with a subtle flick of his wrist. A thin line of blood had appeared there but Joker was quick to reach up and smear it downward with his finger, following in the opposite direction with the tip of his tongue a moment later, biting down on a small fold of her skin. She responded exactly the way he'd hoped she would and let out the most delicious, natural whimper right next to his ear, rocking her hips forward. Joker grunted a laugh, pulling away from her neck.

"So since I was _such _a good boy today, you have to do something for me," he began quietly, tilting his head to the side slightly as Jayde's eyes narrowed like a wildcat that had just spotted a bird. Her perfect, pink tongue just barely slipped out to trace the curvy inner contour of her top lip.

"What's that, Mister Joker…" she purred, the corners of her lips raising just a bit when he tried to ignore how much he loved it when she called him that. His eyes narrowed before he sat up, pointing to the area of bed in front of him, glancing back at her eyes.

"Sit on your knees right here for me." he instructed, his voice clowny and quiet, watching her as she moved to obey him. He pushed himself up to sit more straight as Jayde sat on her knees before him, her ass just about eye level with him. "_Bend over…_" he growled slowly, pushing one of his fingers against the middle of her back to aid her as she bent at the hips to support herself with her hands. "Now…" he began, running his hands down the back of her thighs until he could slide his fingers under the bottom of her dress, gliding the soft material along with them as they journeyed back up. "_I'm _betting that you are wearing…a _tiny, purple _pair of…" Joker's jaw went slack when the edge of her dress passed over the perfect heart-shaped arch of her ass. _SO wrong…_

There, in front of him, less than two feet from his face, now sat Jayde's bare, pink pussy, glistening slightly in the dim light. Jayde must have been predicting his reaction to this as she rocked toward him slightly, looking over her shoulder at him as he flat-out _stared. _She giggled as his eyes finally moved to meet hers, half-lidded, as his jaw shifted to the side. He honestly looked mad, but Jayde knew better; his inner animal had woken.

"Well, don't be _shy…_" she purred a second later, turning his own words on him. He grunted a quick laugh before he sat up to his knees behind her, gliding his hands onto her back, pushing down on the small of it until Jayde was forced onto her forearms.

"-And she was wearing _no _underwear…" he growled as though just finishing a story, watching his hands as they continued up her back, pushing her dress up high enough so she could slide out of it. Jayde dropped it to the floor as she laughed, tossing her hair to one side so she could see what he was doing behind her.

"I took them off in my room." she explained, moaning a moment later when he pulled her hips back against him. "-Didn't think I would be needing them." It seemed Joker had snapped out of whatever daze he had fallen into and was now laughing deeply and quietly to himself as he reached down, running his thumb along the length of her slowly.

"What a _smart_ girl, you are…" he complimented somewhat sarcastically, clearly paying the tiniest bit of attention to what she had said; it seemed the blood that normally operated his brain had migrated elsewhere for the time being. Jayde was just grinning proudly to herself for catching on so quickly when Joker suddenly rolled her to the side, onto her back where he pushed her knees apart with the palms of his hands. "Wanna play a game?" he asked smartly, reaching down to fit two fingers behind the leather of his belt at the buckle, undoing it with a soft 'clink'. Jayde rose up onto her elbows, forcing her gaze upward from his hand to his eyes. She cocked her head to the side.

"Sure." She answered, pulling herself a bit closer to him with her legs. "What's the game?"

"It's really more of a…_wager_, if you will." He explained, leaving his jeans buttoned and zipped for the time being as he leaned over her. "_I _bet that I can make you cum _at least_ three times before I do." At this, Jayde instantly snorted, arching an eyebrow up at him.

"Yeah right." she argued but gasped, arching her back slightly when he pushed two fingers into her, raising his eyebrows as he did.

"So you're betting I can't…right?" he asked to confirm, practically rocking Jayde's entire body as he moved his fingers in and out of her deeply. She whimpered but nodded her head quickly.

"Yeah, I don't think you can." She spit out hastily, closing her eyes. _"Sssseriously…"_ she then breathed with a slight hiss and a shudder when Joker's thumb made contact with her most sensitive spot. He giggled breathlessly, biting down on the inside of her thigh.

"Oh yeah?" his voice escaped him in a rough growl, watching Jayde's face as she practically cringed when he added another finger to his already sticky other two. "I guess all bets are on then."

At first, Joker continued moving his fingers and Jayde seemed to be withstanding it but after a few moments, he leaned down letting his tongue out to just lightly flick against her, sliding his hand under her ass to grip her when the muscles in her back tightened her into an arch. This was more of the reaction Joker had been wanting and he went on, distracting himself by trying to remember, besides Jayde, the last girl he had played this 'game' with. However, his memory was awfully hazy at the moment and he was having a hard time concentrating elsewhere when Jayde was writhing and breathing hard.

"You're _cheating_," she whimpered, opening her eyes to look down at him as he grinned, planting a kiss right at the top of her, speaking against her moistened, soft skin.

"And _you're _about to cum…" he observed, gliding his fingers in and out of her at a greater speed, sitting up to rub his thumb around her clit in circles as she clenched around his fingers. Jayde cried out, letting a short noise past her lips before she silenced herself, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt that increasingly familiar freight train of pleasure tear it's way through her body…There was _no _way he could make that happen another two times. "Looks like its one- zero." He growled, reaching down to _finally _unbutton and unzip his jeans, anxious to free himself from the constricting confines of his jeans. A moment later, Jayde reached out, pushing his hands away to quickly undo them herself, absolutely ravenous for him now. It seemed all that first one had done was wet her appetite, now, she was practically trembling in anticipation. Joker seemed to notice her desperation and was laughing quietly to himself as he allowed her to tug his jeans down far enough to dig behind his boxers and wrap her fingers around him tightly. Her eyes grew wide; it seemed his size surprised her every time.

"You _sure_ you want that?" he asked teasingly, leaning down to rest his forearms on either side of her shoulders, watching her eyes as they slid closed in frustration.

"Yes," she answered quickly. "_Please_, Joker…" He growled deep in his chest at the sound of his name on her lips just after a plead and immediately, he rocked his hips forward to push into her, watching the muscles in her face relax as she sighed. Her hands hooked around his upper arms, tilting her head back as his hips moved against hers, deeply and gently, yet strong enough to rock her entire body. She moaned softly, threading her hands into the back of his hair, only to tighten her grip and pull, tilting his head back slightly.

Joker felt his dick give a hard throb at this. There was really only one thing Jayde had not learned to use against him at that point and that was pulling his hair. Any harder of a tug and he would have flown into 'fuck' mode, when right then, he was really only in 'pleasure Jayde' mode at the moment. He sat up, out of her reach, adjusting his knees further apart so he could pick up their game again. His hands pushed down on the inside of her thighs, parting them more fully to expose the place where their bodies met. He smirked, glancing up at her face to find she was watching him in mild anticipation.

"Wanna cum again?" he asked, arching his eyebrow as though she was about to say no, but to his surprise, she shrugged, turning her head to the side to look across the bed in an almost bored sort of way.

"If you think you can make me." she answered sassily and had just turned her head to look back at Joker when three of his fingers pressed down on the soft area of her tummy just inches from where her pelvic bone ended and her private places began. This put pressure on what she assumed was her bladder and in turn that secretive little 'g-spot' inside her that he was now hitting every time he thrust into her. Jayde whimpered, remembering to herself how she had just assumed that particular spot was a myth but it seemed now that Joker knew better. It most certainly did exist and he was using it to his advantage as he thrust his hips hard and deliberately, watching her closely.

Inside her, Joker could feel that Jayde was starting to quiver around him, a tell-tale mark of an oncoming orgasm and she had just looked up to him, her eyes slightly wide at the new sensation he had brought on from hitting this new spot, when he yawned dramatically, reaching up with his free hand to cover his mouth as Jayde whimpered, swinging out a hand to slap him hard on the chest. He growled a second later, pushing down harder on her lower tummy as he leaned over her, pinning her arm to the bed.

"You should know better than to _hit _me while you're trying _not_ to cum," he advised dangerously, his voice low and loud, his eyes glossy and dilated as he watched her struggle. It was obvious Jayde was giving it everything she had to not let herself finish again but Joker was clearly not having any of that and reached his thumb down while he continued to push on her. Finally, she gasped, arching her back as she came _again_ but Joker was quick to pull out and pretend to watch her clench even though it had been necessary if he had wanted to keep going. He had always been good at pushing off his own release for this little game of his but something about Jayde and that _incredibly _tight little thing made this particularly challenging. The second she was done, he pushed back into her, rolling his eyes upward as Jayde looked up at him.

"Think that's…two?" he asked but Jayde was ignoring him, clearly trying to catch her breath a bit. However, Joker had done this enough times to know that orgasms two and three had to be relatively close together or he would never win his game, especially if Jayde figured out his little trick of focusing the mind elsewhere. So before she could even speak, Joker reached out, placing his hand around the front of her throat; now it was time for the climax, the _piece de resistance_, his _favorite _part. He had been trying to sneak this in on Jayde without freaking her out and it seemed now, that opportune moment had arrived. She gasped when his fingers tightened around her neck but did not panic, at first.

Joker continued to rock into her forcefully, gradually tightening his grip on her neck as she breathed hard and as her eyes remained closed, it really seemed to him as though she was perfectly fine with this…that was until it grew harder to breathe. Jayde's eyes flew open a second later when her breath caught in her throat beneath his grip. Her fingers reached up quickly, wrapping around his wrist to try and pull his hand away but he was too strong and merely giggled to himself, reaching down with his free hand to once again, rub against her clit. Jayde tried to cry out but only managed a short squeak as her back arched.

The dim light in Joker's room had begun to darken as a heavy light-headedness began to take over and even though her eyes were wide open all she could see was the vague outline of his moving figure over her, his arm leading up to his broad shoulders as he choked her. She was trying to gasp for air and ignore her body as it spiraled out of control, clearly unsure which way to go- she could either panic or she could trust Joker to not kill her and let her body go. Her head was pounding with the frantic sound of her heartbeat as she tried to gasp for air but now, Joker was not even watching her and was scowling down at his entry point, his eyebrows furrowed as he watched himself thrust into her. She wanted to scream, to tell him that he was about to strangle her to death but his grip had grown so tight, she could not even make a sound. And yet, the lower half of her body was tingling like it was on fire and Jayde had just closed her eyes, inviting that darkness to swallow her whole and take her into unconsciousness. But the moment she felt herself begin to release, clenching tightly, Joker's hand released it's grip on her neck and she gasped deeply, her head swimming as wonderful oxygen filled her lungs and pleasure such that she had never felt before flooded her body from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. That breath she had taken in escaped from her in a loud scream, the words 'Joker' and 'oh my god' mingled together in some indeterminable cry.

Finally, it seemed Joker had gotten his fill of practically torturing her and was now thrusting into her deeply, placing his hands on either side of her ribcage to support himself. Jayde watched him, remembering the tiny growl he had given off when she pulled his hair earlier so quickly, before he could finish, she reached up, fisting both of her hands into the back of his hair, only to pull his head back. He groaned, closing his eyes as he resisted against her pulling, truthfully wanting this to go on, try and go for a forth orgasm with Jayde but the familiar tightening sensation across his lower abdomen was forcing him to keep going until he finally, _finally_ came, bucking his hips a few more times deeply as he shook his head hard, when Jayde released her grip. Both of them were out of breath and admittedly a little shaky, Jayde more than Joker, but as he stood up from the bed to the carpet next to it, his knees buckled a bit but he caught himself, laughing breathlessly.

"Think it's safe to say I won." He grunted, smirking down at her as Jayde lay in the same spot, her body completely limp, her eyes fixed on the canopy above as she blinked slowly, her mouth slightly ajar. She turned her head slowly to look up at him.

"Think it's safe to say I might not be able to _walk _tomorrow." She admitted, rolling her eyes lethargically as Joker laughed, rebuttoning and zipping his jeans before he sat back down next to her, laying on his side, propped up on his elbow. He grinned at her as she reached out, resting her hand on his warm chest. "Happy birthday, Mister Joker. I hope you had a good day." Joker laughed quietly in his chest, resting his hand against the side of her face gently.

"Best day ever, kiddo."

A/N: LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! –QoM

Oh, and go check out the new pictures of the characters on my photobucket account and the Luscious Sin playlist on . Links are on my profile page. = ]


	28. OFFICIAL

Joker was just dropping his jaw to yawn and reaching his hands up to rub his eyes the next morning at the table on the patio when Dotcom came out and sat down across from him, setting his mug of coffee on the table before him. His pack of cigarettes appeared moments later, although when he went to take one out, he must have felt the burning sensation of Joker's glare as he stared over, waiting to be offered one. Dotcom rolled his eyes rather grumpily as he handed a single cigarette to the boss, sliding the lighter toward him afterwards. Joker lit the thing, inhaling deeply to lean back in the chair, bringing his neon, mismatched socked feet up to cross and rest on the table before him.

It seemed from the way Dotcom had just glanced over at him for the second time that he was debating on whether to ask a question. Joker stayed silent, watching the backyard, waiting for it.

"Did she give you the knife?" he asked rather abruptly, nearly a full minute later and Joker nodded slowly, taking a deep drag from his cigarette.

"Yeah." He grunted, only just then remembering it. His mind wandered back to the events that had followed shortly after she had given him the very first birthday present he had ever gotten in his life. A short snort of a laugh escaped through his nose. Honestly, he couldn't ever remember sex being so good and just the thought of it sent a wave of goosebumps over his shoulders and forearms. He looked over again, raising his eyebrows. "But if she hadn't, you would have ruined a really nice surprise just now, wouldn't you…"

Dotcom opened his mouth to reply but both paused and glanced over when the glass door slid open again and Tre stepped out, pulling his own pack of Newports from his sweatpants pocket. "Ay," he grunted, nodding his head at Joker. "I want you to know somethin', homie…" he then began, pausing to light his cigarette once he had sat down. After inhaling, he pulled it away with his fingers, squinting slightly at Joker as he raised his eyebrows. "I heard that girl scream last night _all the way _down in my room with the door closed _and_ my tv on." Across the table, Dotcom tossed a hand, reaching out to pick up his mug of coffee.

"_Thank _you…" he grumbled in his mug to Tre for bringing it up. Between the two of them, Joker took a long hit of his cigarette, shrugging his shoulders.

"I choked her 'till she came." He explained a moment later, without a shred of hesitation or awkwardness but then frowned over at Dotcom as he coughed into his mug of coffee. Shrugging again, with more effort, Joker looked from the somewhat shocked Dotcom to Tre, who was slowly shaking his head, smirking at him. "_What?"_

"You're a freak, bro."

At this, Joker held up his hands in defense, scowling back and forth between his two closest. "Hey, I _told _you guys ya might wanna stay out for the night." he reminded them, sending both of them a reproachful look, before he went on, leaning forward slightly. "Have either of you two seen her without clothes on?" he asked, even though all three of them already knew the answers and he nodded his head when neither of them replied. "Yeah, so I wouldn't expect ya to understand."

Once the three of them had finished their cigarettes, Tre and Joker ventured inside, leaving Dotcom on the patio, going through his phone. Surprisingly, it was still earlier than usual and yet even though he had fallen asleep fairly late, Joker was feeling well-rested and rather energetic. When Tre walked away toward the kitchen, Joker was about to follow but stopped after only a few steps, thinking back upstairs to the fox in his bed and he immediately changed directions, deciding he would much rather go molest her in her sleep than stand there and bullshit with Tre.

Upstairs, at the door to his bedroom, Joker turned the knob as quietly as he could, realizing that there was a great chance she was already awake but took precaution nonetheless. Inside, it was nearly impossible to see anything being that his eyes were still adjusted to the bright morning sunlight, but he had the inside of this room memorized and closed his eyes as he walked to the foot of the bed. The black comforter and purple sheets were loose and bunched slightly so after lifting them, Joker climbed under, crawling his way up the mattress until he felt Jayde's feet and legs between his hands then his knees. Jayde groaned sleepily, turning further onto her side as he snickered quietly.

"_Jayde…"_ he rasped, his voice high-pitched and whispering. She whimpered, pushing her face into the pillows behind her arm.

"No…" she whined in protest but hmm-ed contentedly a moment later when his lips came to rest on her shoulder, kissing her once then once again just below the first. A sleepy grin slid on her face when he let his weight settle onto her slightly but not even a second later, she squealed in pain when he nipped hard at the back of her arm with his front teeth. "OW!" she finally shouted, slapping him hard on the arm as he laughed, lowering himself to rest on his forearms when she turned onto her back. Her lip was poked out in a pout, her eyes closed as Joker giggled. "That really hurt." She whined. He tsk-ed, rolling his eyes.

"You're a baby." He scolded.

"No, but I _was _sleeping like one…" she answered, grinning when Joker let out a loud, fake laugh. Finally, she gave in when he inched closer, pressing his lips against the underside of her chin and her hands came to rest on his broad shoulders. "Then again…" she started slowly, tilting her head to the side, exposing her neck as Joker let his lips move there, kissing her gently, clearly trying to appease her after his _admittedly_ rather rude awakening. He pulled back after only a few moments, pushing himself up with his hands to lean over her. His eyes drifted downward momentarily, noticing the way his white t-shirt was failing miserably at hiding her perky, morning nipples. He grinned, reaching out to run his thumbs across them through the soft material.

"Tre said he heard you _scream _last night." he informed her, raising his eyebrows as she gasped, smacking his hands away from her chest.

"Seriously?" she asked, embarrassed and yet not entirely surprised as Joker nodded down at her.

"I told him it was your fault." He joked, grinning when Jayde gasped again, smacking him on the chest.

"It is _not." _She protested, folding her arms. "_You're _the one who almost choked me to death." At this, Joker grunted a laugh, leaning down to put his eyes inches from hers.

"Yeah, but I bet you liked it." He growled, kissing her lightly on the lips once. "Admit it." He kissed her again. "You _liked _ it…" At first, Jayde wanted to say she hadn't and that it had actually scared her, but that wouldn't have been the whole truth. Honestly, there was something very powerful about it, about the fact that he could get her so close to passing out only to let her breathe again right as she reached that peak and although she hoped it would not become a part of their sex on a regular basis, she did _sort of _ enjoy it.

"I like how you really did make me cum three times in a row." She deflected, petting his ego a bit to smooth out the part about how she didn't really answer. Luckily, it worked this time as Joker growled, nipping at a spot along her neck. "_Very _impressive, Mister Joker." She then purred, tilting her head slightly when he kissed her, resting on his elbow just next to her shoulder. However, he had just opened his mouth to let Jayde's tongue in when a knock at the door caused them to separate. Joker, it seemed, was not ready to move.

"_Who IS it?" _he called in a high-pitched, sing-song sort of voice from against her neck, forcing a small giggle from her as he purposefully tickled her.

"It's _me, _bro," replied Tre's voice, muffled and deep from the other side of the door and it seemed he was about to go on when Joker lifted his head slightly, glancing behind him toward the other side of the room.

"Oh, come in." he instructed, frowning down at Jayde when she gasped, moving to push him off of her and try to cover up, but he remained firmly in place atop her with his elbows on either side of her ribcage. There was a hesitation from the door where Jayde had a feeling he was struggling with whether or not to open it, obviously unsure of how comfortable he would be with what he saw. Eventually, the knob turned and the door opened slowly, but Jayde was not looking over…this was truly embarrassing and Joker seemed to have no problem with it. She felt him turn his head to look back at Tre, who had clearly just poked his head around the edge of the door.

"Oh, _dude_, c'mon…" he groaned once he noticed the way they were laying but Joker laughed, tossing his hair out of his face as he sat up, moving off of Jayde to sit at the edge of the bed, tossing the covers behind him as Tre decided it was safe to continue into the room. Joker noticed his best friend's eyes flicker over toward Jayde, who had now turned over onto her side, away from them. His eyes glanced from Tre's, over to Jayde's back and over again before he suddenly threw the blankets and sheets off of her, revealing her lower, back side, including the hot pink boy cut underwear she was wearing and the perfect, deep dip in her side leading to those dangerous hips. Both Joker and Tre burst out laughing when she flipped over, yanking the sheets back up to her middle as she sat up, swinging out to slap him hard on his bare shoulder.

Sitting Indian style now with the blankets clamped against her, Jayde glared back and forth between them as they quieted. Finally, Joker looked over at Tre, raising his eyebrows slightly as he squinted.

"What was _so _important again?" he asked, holding up a hand as Tre shrugged his shoulders, looking back and forth between them.

"Nothin', I just wanted to come hang out with you guys." He answered honestly, and at first both Joker and Jayde stared at him somewhat dumbfounded. Joker shook his head incredulously.

"_Seriously?"_ he asked but Tre shook his head with a frown.

"Man, of _course _not…Fuckin' Linman called my phone lookin' for _yo _ass, said its urgent…So I told him you'd call him back." He explained, pausing before he stood up, tossing a phone at Joker. "'Cause _apparently, _I'm your fuckin' secretary now." He added as he walked over toward the door. Joker laughed, leaning back against Jayde comfortably.

"Ah, thank you, Tre. If you could cancel my three o'clock as well…" he added sarcastically as he disappeared through the door. "I'm just _too _swamped…"he growled, glancing up at Jayde behind him as he forced them both into the pillows, bringing the phone up to flip through the numbers to find his trusty police officer buddy. Jayde closed her eyes as the back of Joker's head came to rest on her chest so she tilted her face up and away from his messy hair. Her hand slid lightly onto his shoulder to his chest, rising and falling with his even breathing although a moment later, she felt him hold the phone up to his ear, on the opposite side of his head.

After a few rings, a male voice answered.

"This is Linman."

"Whatcha got for me, piggy…" Joker growled, closing his eyes when Jayde's other hand slid into his messy hair at the top of his head, her nails lightly raking along his scalp.

Jayde had been trying to listen in on the conversation going on, but got distracted when she noticed giant goosebumps rise up along Joker's chest and upper arms and by the time she remembered to listen back in, he was sitting up, his formerly calm features twisted in a new scowl.

"When did this happen?" he asked, scooting to the edge of the bed to stand up and walk over to his dresser, leaning down, listening as he pulled a black, v-neck t-shirt out. Jayde watched him go, wondering what sort of news he had just received that he needed to get out of bed that quickly and as he opened the door to step out, she sat up, frowning.

After stepping back into her pajama pants and changing out of Joker's white shirt, Jayde stepped out onto the second story landing, peering down at the bottom floor only to find it empty of people. From the other side of Joker's door, she could now hear muffled voices floating out, indicating that all three of her roommates were inside and after figuring that she was most certainly not invited, she continued on her way, into her bedroom for a shower. Hopefully, by the time she emerged and changed her clothes, the boys would be out of the Joker's office so she could start finding out what had happened to make need for a random meeting.

After her shower, Jayde found herself in her closet, turning on the spot, wondering what she could possibly wear when she heard her door creak open. She waited before exiting the closet in her towel until she could identify a voice.

"Jayde?" Dotcom called to the seemingly empty room a few moments later. Figuring that the sight of her in a towel would not alarm him, she stepped out of the closet, smiling.

"Hey, sorry. I was trying to find something to wear." She explained, but that previous smile fell slowly from view when she noticed the look on his face. "What happened?" she immediately asked, taking another step toward him. He shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Nothing, girl," he said reassuringly as he waved a hand, but Jayde remained unconvinced; something was up. "Joker wants to see you in his office." He then informed her, smiling warmly.

Jayde stared at him blankly for several seconds, wondering if she should ask him what the deal was and if it was something had to tell her here so she could be somewhat prepared to talk to Joker about it. But she figured it was probably just easier to let him leave the room, thinking that he had obeyed his boss' orders completely. So now, alone again, Jayde hurried into some clean undergarments, jeans and a regular t-shirt and was now pulling it down to her waist as she stepped out onto the second story landing. Tre and Dotcom were both outside on the porch, smoking but as much as she wanted to go join them, her curious streak was absolutely itching to find out what Joker needed to talk to her about so she walked straight over to his door and turned the knob, skipping her usual step of knocking.

Across the room, sat the Joker at his desk with his back to her, one hand pressing Tre's phone to his ear, the other twirling a pen in between his long fingers. The top of his green hair was just visible over the top of his high-backed desk chair as he leaned back. He must have heard her enter as he lifted the hand with the pen into the air, motioning with one finger for her to come over to where he sat. As she approached, he rolled the chair back from the desk by about a foot, glancing up when she came into view. His hand patted the area of desk just in front of him. Jayde took this to mean that he was indicating he would like her to sit there so she sat, hopping up slightly until she could rest her dangling feet on the chair on either side of him.

"Right," Joker suddenly said to the person on the phone, glancing down at Jayde's right foot to reach down and grab her big toe and tug gently, cracking it with a satisfying pop. At first, she jumped with a cringe, but exhaled with a surprised sigh when he went on to crack the rest of them and she realized it actually felt pretty good. She grinned at him, bringing her other foot up to rest on his knee, wiggling her toes in silent request. Joker rolled his eyes as he tilted his head back against the chair but reached out a second later, tugging on each of her toes again. By the time he had finished, it seemed he had grown incredibly tired of sitting there, listening to someone talk so he pulled the phone away from his ear to slap it shut and drop it onto the desk beside her with a loud clunk. A moment later, his elbows came to rest on her legs, rubbing his bare face heavily with both of his hands. Jayde giggled, threading her hands into both sides of his hair on either side of his head, rubbing his scalp deeply with the tips of her fingers to help soothe his newborn headache.

"You ok?" she asked, leaning back slightly to look him in the eyes when he brought his hands down from his face, sitting up straight.

"Yeah, he just wouldn't shut the _fuck _up…" he answered, shaking his head irritably. "Anyways…Linman called Tre this morning, looking to speak with me, _as you heard."_ He began instantly, folding his hands across his stomach, rocking the chair back and forth slowly. "When I called him back, _he _told me that the police have been _looking _for you." Jayde felt a weight drop into her stomach that almost made her feel like being sick. Cold goosebumps washed over her from head to toe. "Apparently, you're wanted for questioning about _my _murder of little Miss Detective." Jayde swallowed hard, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with Joker as he clearly studied her reaction. She shook her head, clearing her throat a bit to try and push back the lump that had formed there.

"Well, if I just go back to my apartment today and answer some questions-…" she began to try and see a logical way out of this but Joker was already shaking his head somewhat gravely.

"They raided your apartment yesterday." He shot her idea right down but rolled his eyes a second later. "While they were _snooping, _those 'brilliant' coppers noticed that most, if not all, of your clothing and necessities were gone…They thought, 'hm, I wonder where she went?'," He paused, shrugging his shoulders. "They know you're with me, kiddo."

Jayde tried hard not to let her eyes well up with giant tears and even though she already knew the answer, she asked anyway.

"So what does that mean?"

Her eyes darted back and forth between Joker's as he took a deep breath, then sighed a moment later, failing miserably at hiding the delighted smirk trying desperately to make an appearance.

"Means you're stuck here." he finally answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Unless you want to go answer their questions and be booked for aiding a _terrorist…_Think that's about…ten…maybe fifteen years?" his eyebrows raised as he rested his chin in his hand with his elbow on the arm of his chair. At this, Jayde truly felt like breaking down into tears. She had always kept the comforting thought in the back of her mind that even if, more certainly, _when _things did not work out between her and the Joker, she would always have her apartment and a life to go back to. Now, upon reflection, she could not believe she had ever convinced herself this was possible. It seemed Joker was just listening to her inner thoughts and was about to speak when a knock on the far side of his room at the door interrupted him.

"Come in." he called out, keeping his gaze fixed on Jayde as she fought to look at everything else in his office, unable for some reason to keep eye contact with him at the moment. Luckily, Tre stepped into the room slowly, giving Jayde an excuse to look over and force herself to smile; why was this news affecting her so badly? Joker obviously didn't deem it necessary to look back at who had entered and instead motioned toward the door with his head, reaching out to rub his thumb across her hipbone comfortingly. "Get outta here for a minute." In a daze, Jayde felt herself standing up from the table to walk past Tre to the door, floating down the stairs and suddenly she was outside, sitting down across from Dotcom. It seemed from the look on her face that he gathered she had been told the 'news'. He sighed, leaning forward to take his glasses off.

"It's really not that bad, honey. It just means you have to be extra care-…" Jayde let him get almost all the way through his bracing words of comfort before she looked over, snapping out of it.

"I wasn't even sure if this was what I wanted yet." she admitted, shaking her head slightly. "I haven't even made up my mind about…him. And now it seems like all I can do is either go to _prison_, or be with him…_around _him." A moment later, her nose wrinkled slightly as she fought back tears hard but she sniffed, closing her eyes to try and relax before she could get too upset. Being emotional was too draining. "I mean…it really feels like I'm stuck here! Like if things don't…god, this sounds so stupid…but if things don't work between me and him, then I have nowhere to go." She was finally venting, letting out all the things she couldn't say to the Joker just prior and she was eternally grateful that Dotcom was staying quiet, listening while she unloaded. "Am I crazy?" she finally asked, raising her eyebrows as she looked over at him. He grinned slightly, shaking his head no.

"No, Jayde, you're not crazy. I felt the same way when he took me away from my life. Granted…I haven't been _sleeping _with the guy for the last few months so my emotions toward him are different." His voice trailed off when he noticed this was not helping. He changed directions. "Look, if you want to go back and say 'oh my god' I'm so sorry, he made me do all this, blah, blah, blah…I'm _sure _there would be some lenience on you, being that up until lately, you've had a pretty clean record." He paused, waiting until she looked over to make eye contact, just to make sure she heard the next part. "But if you leave, Jayde, you have to be prepared for him to hunt you down. You know _far _too much about him for him to let you be on the other team."

What he was saying made sense but Jayde still wasn't convinced that prison and staying here were her only two options. There was witness protection and…other things like that. She could move…She could move on, have a normal, healthy relationship. Joker was wonderful about half of the time, and although the other half of the time was no where near perfect, the thought of just running away, leaving him, made her heart hurt. Dotcom was speaking again and he seemed to sense that Jayde was really, seriously weighing her options.

"Whatever you choose to do, do it fast." He said somewhat slowly, staring intently across at her. A moment later, he stood up. "_As you know, _he's not easy to outrun."

Back inside, Jayde was only mildly surprised that Joker and Tre were still up in his office, clearly planning something although as she walked up the stairs and into her room, this came as somewhat beneficial. With a heavy sigh, Jayde fell back onto her bed with a heavy, sad sigh, wondering, _if _she were to run away, where she would go. She knew, from driving to Gotham that a small city lay on the other side of the woods from them. There was a slight hill, but Jayde could easily get down it and climb the fence at the bottom. Then, a short walk, until she could get a bus ticket or _something. _Then, she could figure it out from there. A second later, her features wrinkled in a frown. How could she think about _leaving him? _ A few months ago, she would have given anything to be around him…then some 'things' happened between them but it seemed like things were really starting to improve…but suddenly, 'things' were looking pretty serious. How could she fully commit to someone…like _that?_

But he was so charming and affectionate when he wanted to be, so gentle and almost romantic at times. He knew exactly the right places to kiss her, he knew exactly what she didn't like. Sometimes, he was in a playful, silly mood, like just a few hours prior down the hall in his room, and other times, he was in the mood to just lay there and stare at her, trying hard not to grin when she yawned sleepily. All the signs were there, he had even gotten close a couple of times, but the Joker, still, to that day, had not admitted feelings for her. Maybe he was of the mind that actions really do speak louder than words. Jayde huffed audibly at that phrase as it passed through her mind. _Fuck that, he needs to tell me…_

A tiny creak over by the door caused Jayde to lift her head and look over but the way was just as empty as it had ever been and the house seemed eerily quiet. Even next door, the Joker's office seemed silent. With a sigh, she lay her head back down, reflecting now on Dotcom's words. He had warned her that if she was going to leave, she had to do it fast and she was positive he was right. If Joker knew she was planning on leaving, he would lock her in this room and she would become a hostage again. She shook her head, hard, turning over onto her side as if to pull her brain away from thoughts of running away. Before she could count to three, she was asleep.

Joker followed Tre out of his office after a lengthy chat. Surprisingly, Tre was a wealth of information on girls and how this whole…'relationship' thing was supposed to work. As he walked down toward Jayde's bedroom, after glancing down to find her missing, he tucked his hands into his pockets, thinking back to some of the advice Tre had given him. Apparently, he was convinced that this news of Jayde's status with the police had come as something of a shock to her, which both had agreed was a little ridiculous, considering who she had been hanging around with. Tre had also said that she would be looking to him to step up and either commit to something solid with her, no matter how insane it sounded, or let her go and give her the resources to be safe. _Apparently_, girls liked a title on things. Now, as he stepped into the doorway of her bedroom, he sighed, deflating slightly in relief when his eyes fell onto her sleeping figure, curled up on her side with her back to the room.

Joker's arm met the frame of her door as he leaned against it, chewing on his bottom lip as he watched her, as though staring at her would help him figure out what to do. It had been clear earlier that she had been affected poorly by this information and honestly, he could see why. Her parents had been _judges_, her whole upbringing revolved around doing what was right and bringing justice to those who needed it. Granted, she was nothing like what he imagined her parents to be but he couldn't help but think that she might realize she was spitting on everything they had taught her. That, and he wasn't the best guy to be involved with. Killing and chaos were a part of his everyday life, he was constantly looking for ways to hurt people…even though Jayde had taken a resilient shine to this sort of lifestyle. She was smart and quick, constantly watching and learning… not to mention she was _really _sexy and _really _into him. It was true, Jayde was the total package, perfect for him in everyway. The only question was…does she feel the same way about him? He shook his head a moment later; there was no way. When it came down it, Tre had been right all the way through- the only way for Joker to find out how she felt about staying with him was to swallow his pride, admit his feelings and ask her. That opportune moment had to come any time now.

When Jayde turned over onto her back, she blinked a few times with a groan, glancing up at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed. The time read five o'clock and apparently, it had been raining and had just stopped, random sunny beams of light shining on the tree outside her window. Black clouds in the distance seemed to be showering down on Gotham and she wondered vaguely if that was a good or bad thing for the two main intersections Joker had doused with lye…This thought brought that sick feeling back to her stomach as she remembered back to why her morning had been so dreary.

Surprisingly, as Jayde stood up, the house seemed silent still, strange, being that normally someone was downstairs watching tv or in the kitchen but even _more _bizarre, she would have thought that Joker would have come to find her before then…and the fact that he didn't, drove her to her closet to step into her flat, closed-toe shoes. Her heart began racing as she grabbed her phone from the dresser, stuffing it and an old twenty dollar bill into her back jeans pocket as she walked briskly from the room; it was now or never.

Out in the hallway, Jayde glanced down and around for any sign of the Joker or Tre but when she could not see him, her heart gave a pang of ache. A moment later, she noticed the door to his office was closed and again, this only helped spur her on, down the stairs and over to the sliding glass door. It was just her luck that Dotcom would be sitting outside, flipping through a magazine, smoking as she stepped outside. Tears began to gather and warm her eyes as she walked right past him, over to the screen patio door, pulling it open.

"Jayde?" his voice called out after her, but she had already taken a few steps forward and broken into a flat out run, sprinting for the line of trees. "Jayde!" he now yelled, rising from the chair, but when she failed to stop or turn around, Dotcom dropped his cigarette into the ashtray, sliding open the glass door again to run inside and up the stairs. Within seconds, he was banging on the door to the Joker's office. "Boss!"

"WHAT?"

"Jayde just took off running!" he shouted through the wood, practically pressing his nose against it as he listened for noises from inside the room. A second later, it opened, revealing a tall Joker with a scowl on his face.

"I'm sorry…what?" he asked again but flinched when Dotcom tossed his hands.

"Jayde is RUNNING AWAY!"

Finally, it seemed to hit Joker what was happening and he walked quickly to the stairs, trotting down as Dotcom followed. "Where?" he asked roughly, walking over toward the garage but stopped when he noticed Dotcom pointing at the sliding glass doors somewhat frantically. Obviously, he was not ready to live without her, either.

"Out into the fucking woods!" he cried, stepping out onto the porch behind Joker. "I don't know what-…" he was going on to say but he was already running off into the tall grass, weaving his way through until he reached the tree line, pushing branches out of his way. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears and as he ran, anger and even a bit of slight hurt began to well itself up inside of him; had she really risked leaving his house like this just because she couldn't stand the thought of staying with him? This seemed almost too illogical to be real.

As the branches moved, tiny droplets of freezing cold rain water dripped heavily down on him and by the time he reached the other side of the trees, running out into the field, he was shivering slightly, both from cold and from these infuriating emotions she was causing inside him. His stomach lurched slightly when his eyes spotted Jayde, running through the field on the other side, approaching the next line of trees. There was no way he was going to cover fifty yards and reach her before she disappeared so he took a deep breath as he ran.

"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?"

Jayde gasped when she heard a loud, biting voice in the distance behind her, floating to her ears on the wind as though from a particularly foul-tempered ghost. She stopped on a dime, reaching up quickly to wipe the cold, sticky tear trails from her cheeks, pushing her hair out of her face. The Joker stopped the moment she turned, his eyes slightly wide as he breathed deeply from running behind her.

"Jayde, what are you doing?" he called out from only thirty feet or so, shaking his head as he tossed his hands, clearly at a loss for words. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she let out a soft, breathless sob.

"I'm leaving." She answered, her voice quiet and distant- sounding as she watched his features, glancing her up and down with his eyebrows furrowed. He looked the most confused she had ever seen him but a moment later, as if to stay in character, he huffed like she had said the most idiotic thing he had ever heard.

"You _can't _leave, Jayde." He replied, taking a couple steps toward her, only to sigh and hang his head slightly when she mirrored his steps backwards, keeping a good distance between them.

"And why not? I think I have the right to choose what I do with my life." She spat crossly, angry that he had actually come chasing after her. Why couldn't he have just let her go? Across from her, Joker seemed to be struggling with his answer and opened his mouth, only to close it again a moment later, exhaling through his nose. Tre had said it would be easy to say once he had gotten there, but that was not turning out to be the case; if anything, it was _much _harder to do when she was waiting for it, staring at him expectantly. That prickly anger in the pit of his stomach came to his rescue again.

"You wouldn't last ten minutes on your own out there!" he finally yelled, tossing his hands. "You don't know what it's _like, _Jayde." Her eyes narrowed at his tone and insinuation before she turned, rolling them heavily as she went to walk on. Joker groaned as he trotted after her; _very _poor choice of words. His hand reached out, resting on her arm as he stepped in front of her, shaking his head. "Jayde…People have seen you with me," he tried again, forcing her to stand still, even pushing her back a few steps into the clearing, away from the trees. "You leave and they're gonna look for you. They're-…" he paused, swallowing when he felt like being sick; why was this so difficult for him? "They're gonna hurt you to…punish me…try and get under my skin." At this, Jayde wrenched her arm out of his grip, her expression fiery and just as angry now. She let out a fake laugh.

"Please, you wouldn't give a _shit _if someone tried to hurt me. There _is _no 'getting under your skin', Joker." She spat, her eyebrows practically touching as she glared up at him. He exhaled, shaking his head.

"That's not true," he stated, staring intently at her eyes as if hoping she could see inside him to know he was being one hundred percent honest for what seemed like the first time in his life. His eyes rolled as he let out a sigh. "Jayde, I would lose my _mind_ if someone tried to hurt you to get even with me." he started to explain but cut himself off from that track, trying again on a different tact to try and reason with her. "If you leave, you'll either end up in prison or being tortured and killed for answers about me." he finally just lay it down, realizing that he needed to keep things simple and straightforward with her if he wanted her to stay. The setting suns residual light was fading rapidly, leaving the wide meadow behind them bathed in a dim, yellow glow, but even through this light, Joker could see tears gathering below Jayde's already electric blue eyes. Her nose wrinkled.

"I just can't be with someone who doesn't care-…" she was saying but Joker interrupted with a frustrated laugh, taking a step forward to grab her upper arms firmly, leaning down slightly.

"Doesn't _care?" _he repeated her, his gaze bouncing back and forth between hers as if he hadn't heard correctly, his eyebrows arched in confusion. "You think I don't _care _about you?" he paused, shaking her a bit in frustration. "Jayde, I'm _crazy _about you, girl." He _finally _admitted, letting his hands glide down her arms as she relaxed slightly, blinking up at him in mild surprise but Joker was already feeling awkward. He turned slightly, bringing his hand up to run through his hair before he turned back to her, exhaling heavily to try and calm himself before he went and said too much. "If you want to leave, then go. I wont stop you." With this, he took a step backward, holding up his hands in defeat. If this was really what she wanted, then so be it- Jayde was not the type he wanted to hold hostage anymore.

When she continued to stand there and gape at him, Joker turned to walk back toward the house, but paused when he heard her say his name and he tried not to notice the way his heart skipped a beat. He turned to face her again, slowly, looking down as she took a few steps toward him this time, glancing down at her feet somewhat awkwardly. Joker hoped she was starting to realize how stupid she had been for thinking it was a good idea to leave.

"I don't want to leave," she admitted, shaking her head as those afore mentioned tears began traveling down her cheeks to splash onto her already damp shirt. A shiver wracked her body when Joker reached out, letting his hand come to rest lightly at the top of her neck, against her jaw. "I just…I don't-…" Obviously, she was beginning to run out of things to say or hadn't the faintest idea of how to explain herself. Either way, Joker figured it could wait until they reached the warmth of the house and he finally wrapped his arm around her shoulders, nodding with his head toward the far side of the field.

"C'mon, kid, I'm freezing."

The entire walk back to the house, Jayde held onto Joker's hand, following a half-step behind as he led her through the now dark trees, the forest alive with chirping crickets as the last of the light faded. She did not feel as though their conversation was over, but at the moment, the only thought on her mind was getting out these damp clothes and into a hot shower. _Then, _if Joker wasn't too angry at her for trying to leave, she might be able to continue talking to him.

As they stepped into the house, Dotcom and Tre were standing in the kitchen but pretended, courteously, not to watch as Joker turned to look down at her, putting his back to them so they would not see the faint tear trails against her olive complexion. She glanced over at the others but looked up to Joker as he nodded toward the stairs.

"Go shower," he instructed, his voice quiet and low. "I'll be down here when you get out." Jayde felt her cheeks begin to warm when she walked off toward the stairs to obey him, embarrassed when she thought of what Tre and Dotcom were thinking, but somewhat excited to get done with her shower so she could talk more to Joker. It seemed he understood that they still had more to talk about but was stalling a bit by having her shower; Jayde didn't mind. Joker needed to figure out what he was going to say to her before she came back down.

As Jayde disappeared into her room, Joker turned to the guys in the kitchen, trudging over as he shook his head with an exasperated roll of his eyes. Tre grunted a laugh while Dotcom stayed quiet, his arms folded and a concerned, gay look on his face.

"So, is she gonna stay?" Dotcom asked a half-second later, setting his glasses on his nose as Joker took another few steps over to the cabinet next to Tre, pulling down a glass for some water.

"I don't know," he answered honestly, sighing as he filled the glass out of the fridge. "I'm going to give her a choice, though. If she really doesn't want to stay, I'll make it possible for her to…leave and be ok." A moment later, he jumped when both Tre and Dotcom answered at the same time, both asking '_Really?', _as though Joker had just announced his decision to join a ballet troupe. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned to face them. "_Yeah,_" he answered, tilting his head to the side when he realized he didn't know why they found that so surprising. "I don't want her to be here if she's gonna be miserable." With a shrug, he moved to take a sip of his water but paused half way to his lips with the glass when Dotcom tossed his hands.

"Oh my _god, _you actually lo-…" he blurted incredulously but stopped short abruptly when Tre nudged him in the arm with his elbow, nodding his agreement at Joker.

"Yeah, you're right, bro," Tre suddenly took over where he had purposefully interrupted Dotcom. "That's gonna be a waste of time, having her here if she doesn't want to be." He agreed somewhat air-headedly, simply repeating everything Joker had said in a different arrangement, to make it seem like he understood. Joker's eyes squinted slightly as he glared back and forth between them before he eventually stalked off toward the stairs to change his clothes. He could figure that out later.

Upstairs, Jayde had just stepped into a pair of baggy pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt when she heard the tv turn on downstairs, fairly loudly at first only for the volume to drop quickly. So after turning off the lights in her bathroom and the lamp next to her bed, she stepped out onto the second story landing, noticing immediately that all the other lights in the house had been put out, filling the bottom floor with a blue glow. Dotcom and Tre had either decided to call it a night early or Joker had told them to be scarce when she came downstairs and she was still wondering which scenario it had been when she approached the couch from the side, glancing at the tv before over to Joker, leaning comfortably into the corner of the couch, one socked foot up and rested on the coffee table before him. He looked up when he noticed her although his eyes immediately went back to the tv as his hand reached out, drumming his fingers on the space next to him.

As she sat, his arm moved to raise to the back of the couch behind her, once again leaving that comfortable curve of his side exposed. And although Jayde had been so upset to the point of leaving him 'forever' just an hour earlier, she could not help herself but move closer, immediately resting her head on that one soft spot of his shoulder, wanting nothing more than to be close to him. It seemed he had been hoping she would do this as his arm wrapped around her a moment later, his fingers curling around her far shoulder. Jayde's eyes slid closed as she took a deep breath in through her nose, wondering how she could have ever thought it was a good idea to leave.. Her legs moved to rest in between his as she sat sideways against him, her arm rested lightly on his middle and he took a deep breath, leaning his head back against the couch.

"Look, Jayde," he started abruptly, his voice quiet and somewhat flat. "I understand if you don't want to stay here, I just wish you would have come and talked to me about it before you…_took off. _That was _not _smart of you, darling, I hope you know this." He partially scolded, opening his eyes to look down at her as she did the same up at him. Her gaze drifted down to the scar on his left cheek as he went on, shaking his head slightly. "If you want to leave, I can make it happen for ya, to where you'll be safe and looked after. But if you had just _left-…"_ At this, Jayde interrupted him, sensing that he was starting to get irritated again, thinking back to what she had done.

"I don't want to leave," she said, glancing down at the line of his undershirt as she tried to figure out what to say and why she was so nervous now that they were finally having this conversation. "I just…don't want to be…here if there's no reason for me…I mean, I don't want to stay if…there's no point." At this, she laughed awkwardly, shaking her head. "I mean, the only reason I'm here is…because of how I feel…about you and _now_ it seems like I _have _to stay here, and we're not even…we're just…fuck buddies!" she finally exclaimed, feeling like she had stumbled through that like a blind person through a maze. Beside her, Joker was grinning, resting his head back again to gaze over at her.

"Jayde, we are _not_ just 'fuck buddies'," He stated, arching one of his eyebrows. "I've _had _ a fuck buddy before and…it's _nothing_ like this." It seemed he had gone and said the wrong thing again but the second he noticed Jayde's eyes narrow at his in the dark, he laughed, closing his eyes, apparently giving up. She sighed, reaching up to push some of his green hair away from his clean face to get his attention again and her scar twitched slightly when he turned his head, opening his eyes again to meet hers.

"I don't want to leave, but I need you to give me a reason to stay." She tried to beg with her voice, hoping and praying he wouldn't just roll his eyes and tell her to go to bed and her heart leapt when he took a deep breath, glancing down before he turned slightly to face her a bit more. His hand reached up a moment later, using his thumb against her chin to turn her face more toward his so he could kiss her lightly once, hoping this would help ease his words out of him. Joker pulled away after only a second, opening his eyes just a tiny bit to focus on her slightly parted lips as their faces remained close together.

"I need you here, Jayde." He _finally _admitted, opening his eyes a bit more to meet hers as she looked up at him, the tips of her eyelashes dusting the arched curve of her eyebrows. "You make me happy in the _worst _way possible and I don't really think I'm ready for you to leave just yet." Jayde grinned when it began to grow obvious that getting all this out in the open was putting him in a better mood by the second and his hands reached up, grabbing her face roughly as his eyebrows raised. Jayde mimicked his expression as she laughed. "So I'm _sorry, _but you'll just have to stay." He growled with finality, his voice clowny and raspy again as she inched closer, pecking him on the lips quickly before she sat back, biting down on her bottom lip playfully. However, Joker reached out, pulling her close again to kiss her more properly, his hand at the side of her neck, rubbing his thumb against the soft skin there as Jayde hmm-ed against his lips.

After only a few moments, he pulled away, licking his lips as he opened his eyes, peering into Jayde's intently. He half-squinted, tilting his head to the side slightly as she watched him, waiting on bated breath.

"…So, you gonna be my girl or what…" he growled, glancing from her eyes down to her lips and back up again once as she smiled slowly.

"Only if you'll be my man," she answered sassily, grinning when his eyes squinted even smaller. A second later, his features relaxed before he nodded, smirking.

"Deal."

LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU LOVE JOKER AND JAYDE! I WOULD LOVE AT LEAST SIX OR SEVEN ON THIS CHAPTER AS A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO IT. SO LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT ONE! WE'RE GETTING CLOSER TO THE END(ings)!

Oh and the song that inspired this chapter is the song called 'Cold War' by Janelle Monae. Don't be a bum. Go listen to it. Really beautiful song.

QUEEN OF MEAN


	29. Club Chaos

Before Jayde had even opened her eyes the next morning, she sighed when she immediately noticed that the warm weight behind her had seemingly left the bed and as she turned onto her back, she spread out her arms. The place where Joker had fallen asleep felt cold and almost as though no one had been there. As unsurprised as she was that he was not there, Jayde honestly felt a little bit shocked that she had not felt him get up or heard him leave. How long had he been gone?

As she lay there on her back in the middle of the Joker's bed, she took a deep breath in, opening her eyes slowly to the dim light filtering into his room from the window next to the bed. A lot had happened the previous night and part of Jayde wondered if maybe Joker had left so early because he was feeling awkward about seeing her. Maybe the thought of actually being in a real relationship with someone was scaring him a little and he felt he needed to distance himself. Maybe…he was regretting their decision? With another sigh, Jayde lifted her leg, pointing her toe to reach out and pull the black drape away from the window a bit, using the tone of the sunlight outside as a guide to what time it was. From the crisp, somewhat golden glow reflecting off the top of the trees in the distance, Jayde gathered that it was well after eight but still before eleven. She sat up a second later, turning to throw Joker's blankets away from her, rising to walk over to the door and step out.

Walking to the stairs with a yawn, Jayde noticed Dotcom standing at his favorite spot in the kitchen, sipping from a mug of coffee as he read the newspaper. No one else was in sight so Jayde assumed that neither Tre nor the Joker were home but honestly, she didn't care at the moment. It was probably better that she not see her…_man_ so soon after such an intense conversation. She strode up casually, saying a quiet 'hi' to Dotcom as she debated with herself on whether to tell him about the talk she and Joker had. A second later, as if he had been reading her mind, he looked over, placing his glasses on the top of his head, watching her until she noticed. Her eyebrow arched when she caught him staring from around the door of the fridge. She shrugged.

"What's that look for?" she asked, closing the fridge to walk over and pull a mug down from the cabinet. Dotcom shrugged, taking a sip of his own coffee.

"So what did you guys talk about?" he asked innocently, raising his eyebrows as Jayde frowned. His eyes rolled a moment later. "I tried to eavesdrop but you guys were being quiet and had the tv on." he admitted with another shrug. Jayde laughed, shaking her head as she poured steaming hot coffee into the mug.

"He asked if I was gonna be his girl," she answered casually, hoping Dotcom would just sort of skate right over this information without missing a beat. On the contrary, however, Jayde jumped when he gasped loudly in astonishment, setting his mug on the counter between them with a thunk.

"Jayde, are you _kidding?" _he asked, gaping fully at the side of her face as she smirked with a half-shrug.

"No, I'm not," she stated, shaking her head. "I told him he needed to give me a reason to stay here so…he kinda _did._" Across from her, Dotcom jumped slightly, reaching out to touch her arm.

"Oh my god, let's go outside n' smoke. You gotta tell me what he said." He insisted, leading her over to the sliding glass doors to step outside and sit down eagerly, lighting a cigarette before passing her the pack and lighter. "Ok, so…what did he say?"

At first, Jayde hesitated, wondering if it was really anyone else's business what he had said besides the Joker and herself. It had taken so much effort for him to come out and say what he had been feeling and Jayde didn't really think she wanted to share what had been said. With a smile, she looked over before back down at her knees.

"Not a lot, really. He just said he didn't want me to leave and…pretty much asked me if I wanted to…you know, be _with _him." she answered vaguely, even though she had a feeling Dotcom knew she wasn't telling the whole story and she was grateful that he did not press on further. He sighed, shaking his head as he leaned back in the chair, studying her from behind his glasses.

"So you guys are like…'official' now?" he asked rather ditzily, grinning when Jayde shrugged.

"I _think_ so," she replied honestly, hoping and praying she was right. A moment later, her heart sank when she remembered Joker's random, early disappearance that morning and she instantly began to dwell on those feelings of uncertainty from earlier in his bed. "I mean, there's every chance that he's regretting what we decided last night and that…that's why he left or whatever, but…" she tossed one hand while the other caught her cheek as she rested her elbow on the arm of the chair next to her. "I don't know, I wish he had been here this morning."

Across from her, Dotcom took a long drag from his cigarette, glancing inside with his eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, I don't know where they went. They were gone when I got up." Jayde rolled her eyes, ashing the cigarette into the ashtray.

"I don't care, I just hope he isn't in a bad mood when he comes back. I can't handle that side of him after yesterday."

After finishing their cigarettes, Jayde followed Dotcom back inside, trying to decide if she was hungry. There wasn't much in the kitchen she felt like eating and the coffee itself was fairly filling so she went back over to the pot to pour a bit more, glancing behind her when Dotcom walked to the dishwasher to start unloading the clean out. Jayde was just reaching up for the sugar when the mechanical sound of the garage door raising just on the other side of the kitchen wall caused her to look over, her stomach clenching up again. Any moment, the Joker was about to come storming in through that door and either ignore her or start raging about. Goosebumps rose up on her arms when she imagined the sound of his angry voice.

A second later, the door burst open and in strode the Joker in full makeup and purple and green garb, minus the coat. Without missing a beat, he walked right over to Jayde and wrapped his arm around her, only to dip her back rather low and kiss her firmly, one hand at the small of her back, the other moving effortlessly to the back of her neck. Jayde tried hard not to grin against his lips at how ridiculous he was, clearly having done this a few times as his movement had been fluid, almost practiced. _The Joker- Ladies Man… _She wondered vaguely how many times he had done that before…He pulled away abruptly and stood her up, glancing over at Dotcom before he cleared his throat, loosening his tie as he leaned against the counter.

"Hi." He greeted her finally, nodding his head once. "I have something for you," he went on, turning quickly to walk back out into the garage as though he'd just remembered. Jayde stayed put, honestly still a little blown away by how incredibly wrong she had been in predicting his temperament. After only a few moments, he returned, this time, with a white plastic bag. As he walked over to the stairs, motioning with his head for her to follow him, she glanced at the logo on the bag, finding the French name a bit familiar, although she was too distracted by wondering what was in there to care much about where it came from.

Joker sat on the end of her bed, unbuttoning his vest with one hand to lean back comfortably and watch as she walked up, her eyebrow arched slightly. "_Well?" _he asked expectantly, motioning at the bag with his hand while she hesitated, but as she started to reach inside the bag, he cleared his throat, lowering his head to watch as she pulled out the top item, holding it up. Her eyes moved down to meet his in confusion as she glanced up and down at the black, wife-beater style tank top. He laughed, nodding his head. "Keep goin'…" he urged her on, his grin widening when she pulled out the next article of clothing with was a low cut, loose button down long sleeved shirt, _also _black. By now, Jayde could see that there was more in the bag besides black clothing so she wasted no time in reaching down to pull out a pair of camouflage, cargo, capri pants. This time she stopped to look at him and he laughed, leaning back on his elbow. "_Keep going…"_

Finally, Jayde reached down, back into the bag where she found a large shoe box, inside of which sat a pair of black, mid-calf height black, army-style boots, shiny and smelling like brand new leather as she pulled them out, gawking. She shook her head, her eyebrows arching further. "What is all this for?" she asked although she could already guess the answer. Joker shrugged his shoulders, yawning slightly.

"Your new _uniform_," he answered, sitting up as she picked up the camo pants to glance at the size. "I called Maggie and asked her if she could go pick these up at a girly store for you. I figured the usual 'guy pants' wouldn't do you, uh…justice…" he now growled, reaching out to slide his hands around her waist and pull her closer until she was between his knees at the foot of the bed. "You should probably try those on now…" he suggested 'innocently', letting his eyes glide downward to her hips. "Just in case they don't fit right, ya know?" Jayde rolled her eyes but turned her back to him anyways, bending at the waist slowly as she pulled her pajama pants to the floor, leaving her standing there, bent over in a pair of cotton boy cut underwear. Behind her, she heard Joker hmm to himself, letting his hands reach out to glide over the curve of her ass to those hips but Jayde was ignoring him, honestly a little excited to see how these pants looked on her.

After stepping into them, she stood up, buttoning them so they sat low on her hips, bringing the zipper up a moment later to look down and around at herself. The size was maybe a _tiny _bit too big around her hips but the material around her ass and upper hips was rather tight, exposing just the right places before the cargo legs were somewhat loose and baggy. The material stopped right in the middle of her calf where Jayde had a feeling the boots were going to end. Joker seemed pleased as he turned her around again, shaking his head.

"_Damn, _girl…" he growled, only to wrap his arms around her middle a second later, pulling her backwards forcefully into his lap as he lay down along the bed behind them. Jayde laughed, rolling off of him to the side, turning over to look at him. He closed his eyes as he lay on his back but after only a few moments of watching him, Jayde broke the silence.

"Why the new uniform?" she asked somewhat quietly, hoping he wouldn't become aggravated and ruin the _surprisingly _good mood he had been in. Fortunately, the scar on his right cheek curved more upward as he smirked, his eyes still closed.

"I need you to _blend in_, sugar," he answered smartly at first, then turned his head slowly, opening one eye as the eyebrow above it arched. "That's the purpose of _camouflage…_" When all the muscles in Jayde's face relaxed simultaneously at his sarcasm, he snorted a laugh, closing his eyes to turn his face back up toward the ceiling. "You kinda…_stick out,"_ he then went on to explain. "Its not often these guys see a girl in their 'line of work', much _less_, one that looks like you. So if I have you following me around on my coat tails wearing tiny little dresses and heels…then I'm _kinda_ making a target of you." He eventually admitted but then paused to shrug his shoulders and look over. "That, and I don't need anybody _eye-fucking _you, either…"

Jayde laughed, rolling onto her stomach, watching him as he stared at her, his eyes raking across her face as though he hadn't seen her in a while. For a few seconds, she considered bringing up their conversation, asking him what they really were now and yet she couldn't bring herself to do it. He seemed at ease for the time being, comfortable around her still as though nothing had changed and honestly, she was really glad. She had been so worried that he would start being awkward or mean around her again or even that he would regret _everything_, but he seemed…_comfortable. _Somehow, she knew it would come up on its own so she resigned to silence, grinning to herself when he looked away back up to the light canopy over head.

A moment later, she arched an eyebrow when he tilted his head all the way back, looking up at the fluffy, perfectly white pillows above him at the top of her bed. His arms reached up as he selected one and brought it down to hold it out above him. At first, Jayde watched, thinking he was just about to fold it under his knee or place it behind his head, but instead, she jumped when he brought it down flat onto his face hard, the feathers inside it giving a soft 'poof-ing' sound at the contact. His hands moved to press the middle of the pillow harder against his face before he reached over to pull the pillow away, scowling up at it as though this had been an experiment of some kind. However, as his head turned slowly to look at her, a ridiculous grin tugged at his scars and he flipped the pillow around so Jayde could see the impression of his face in her pillow- two black rings above a perfect, wide curved smile with two lip prints in the middle. Joker burst out laughing when her eyebrows relaxed in mild annoyance but she allowed him to reach out and pull her closer with a forceful tug after he had tossed the pillow behind him blindly.

Surprisingly, it was not long after Joker had gotten comfortable that he was sound asleep, one arm stretched out before him, the other tucked under the edge of Jayde's pillow, breathing quietly. Being that she had only just woken up an hour prior, Jayde didn't deem it necessary for her to take a nap. So after rising slowly from the bed, she stepped into her closet to find her straightener and plug it into the socket in the bathroom. If she was going to be going out wearing camo and boots later, she was going to do it the right way.

An hour later, Jayde had just finished her hair and was turning the flat iron off when she heard a phone start ringing loudly from over by the bed. She looked over to see Joker's arm move from the front of his body, twisting around to the back where he reached into his back pocket with two fingers, sliding a small black phone out. His thumb hit the green button before he brought it to the side of his face, clearing his throat sleepily.

"What…" he answered flatly, pausing to listen as the person on the other end explained their reason for disturbing him. A moment later, it seemed it had been something of interest as Joker sat up, climbing out of the bed to walk from the room briskly as though he had not just been completely asleep. Jayde shook her head to herself, wrapping the cord around the straightener to put it away. Clearly, there were plans for later but as _usual, _she would be the last to hear about them. After nearly twenty minutes since the Joker had left the room so abruptly, Jayde climbed onto her bed to turn on the tv, figuring that if he hadn't returned by then, he was busy and that she should probably just hang out for a while.

This 'hanging out' went on a lot longer than Jayde had originally expected and by the time four o'clock rolled around, with absolutely no sound from the rest of the house, she was beginning to wonder if everyone had already left and hadn't informed her of what was happening. It was rather unusual to go almost three hours without hearing a noise from _anyone _so her curious nature drove her to the door and out onto the landing to see what the deal was.

Even out on the landing, it was completely silent although after looking over to the door to Joker's office, she found it cracked only a slight bit, which was even stranger considering it was usually always either wide open for only a few moments or closed. She walked as silently toward it as she could, trying to imagine what he could be doing in there although the second she turned the corner and pushed open the door, her somewhat excited expression fell comically. The room was empty.

She had _just _taken a half-step into the room, glancing around when a voice from behind her caused her to jump with a loud gasp. Behind her, out in the hall, Dotcom was laughing at her reaction, cringing when she smacked him.

"Whatever, I'm glad it's just you," she admitted a few moments later, rolling her eyes. "Where is everyone, anyways?" she then asked as though a whole group of people were missing, even though it was only two. Dotcom shrugged, walking to the stairs as she followed.

"I don't know," he answered. "He didn't say. He just said they would be back at around eight…Said he wants us to be ready to go when he gets here."

Jayde frowned at this information; had he really just left like that? She shrugged after a second of slight irritation, figuring that it didn't really matter. At least she would have time to get ready and look good before Joker could see her; she had a point she wanted to make…hopefully, he would pick up on it.

So after a cigarette or two and sitting around on the porch, chit-chatting with Dotcom, they both ventured upstairs at around seven to start 'getting ready'…Apparently, Dotcom liked the way he looked in camo as much as she did. Once in her room, after relocating the bag from earlier with her new clothes, Jayde reached inside, trying on the tank top first. It fit perfectly but obviously had no sleeves and if she was trying to look good, having goosebumps and the shivers would not necessarily help. So after peeling that off, she reached for the other shirt. It was clear that Maggie had a great sense of fashion and the black long sleeved shirt she had chosen was not only a perfect fit but a very rustic style shirt. It was baggy but only in the right places. The bottom of the shirt was tight fighting but only long enough to just rest above that curve of her hips that she had grown to appreciate more. Something about the way Joker's hands felt when they gripped that one dip was enough to make her crazy. She couldn't wait to see him in an hour.

Once dressed and after putting on a bit of dark, smudged makeup around her eyes, Jayde stared at her hair in the mirror, wondering what she ought to do with her hair. It was so straight and sleek that it seemed like a shame to put it up, but there was also every chance that she might not want to have hair in her face…Then again, the camo look was _begging _for a long sleek ponytail…that, and she was pretty positive Joker might have fun pulling on it.

Finally, it was just about eight and Jayde was just sliding her socked feet into the boots, surprised to find that they fit perfectly. The top of the leather and ties reached the middle of her shin, like military style and the bottom of the legs of her camouflage pants tucked into them perfectly, bunching a slight bit over the top. As she stood up, she glanced at herself in the mirror on the back of the closet door, smirking at the way her hips looked with her pants and black leather belt sitting low and slightly loose. She had just reached down to button the bottom tiny button on her shirt when the sound of the garage opening downstairs only just preceded a shrill whistle coming from between the Joker's teeth.

"Woman!" he shouted a second later. Jayde grinned. "Let's go!"

Taking a deep breath of confidence and letting it fill her, Jayde stepped out onto the landing, ignoring them downstairs until she turned at the top of the stairs. _Then, _her eyes locked onto the Joker's, staring softly at the black rings around his eyes as she stepped down the stairs, assuming he was watching hungrily the way her exposed hipbones moved with each step she descended…she couldn't really see his dark eyes behind the black makeup. A moment later, his hand reached out to absentmindedly bat Tre's arm to get his attention, and he looked up from his phone to let hisgaze bounce all over her. Jayde laughed at the boys rather blank expressions as she stepped off of the bottom stair, walking over toward them with her eyes still on Joker's until she was closer to them. Her gaze then moved straight ahead to the garage door as he lowered his head to watch her walk between he and Tre, lightly bumping their arms as she went. She could smell her vanilla-coconut lotion as she moved and was positive they could too.

Without even pausing to look over her shoulder, she stepped outside into the garage, shutting the door behind her quietly. Before she moved however, she paused on the step, listening. She grinned when she heard Tre 'tut' loudly. Joker's raspy voice came a second later.

"_See?" _

When Joker emerged from the house with Tre on his heels a few moments later, he assumed Jayde had found Dotcom in the Escalade and walked toward it, tightening his fingers into fists at his sides a few times, stretching them out in an effort to release some of that familiar itchy energy as it started to work it's way up inside of him. He had already been feeling antsy and anxious upon just arriving there and what Jayde had just done did _not _help. If anything, it had just intensified that energy tenfold, making him feel _seriously _close to fucking losing it. He wasn't _angry _or feeling any more murderous than usual, but he felt caged, almost subdued which frustrated him and made him feel a _little _like running around in circles for a few minutes.

As he climbed in opposite Jayde in the two, single middle seats, he continued to the very back, tapping her arm with his finger as he went. She followed as Tre got into the front seat next to Dotcom and the truck roared to life a second later. It was surprisingly dark outside for being somewhat early but Jayde wasn't complaining; Joker had just slid across the back seat toward her forcefully, somewhat pinning her to the side of the car. His hand slid onto her thigh.

"So who can we expect there tonight, boys, who'd ya get in contact with?" he asked casually of Dotcom and Tre up front as he lifted Jayde's knee to rest over his, parting her legs slightly. Jayde glanced down with her eyes but decided to ignore this, turning her head slightly to gaze out at the dark fields passing them. It really _was _surprisingly dark out; perhaps Joker had planned this on a moonless night purposefully? Dotcom was speaking up front, answering Joker's question but Jayde was whole-heartedly not listening, distracted heavily by the fingers that had now inched their way to the crotch of her pants.

"_Please,"_ Joker began somewhat loudly, pressing down with his fingers firmly over the area he knew was the most sensitive. "-tell me you brought the metal detectors. These guys have been told not to bring any weapons with them but I'll find _great_ sport in handling the ones that try n' pull a fast one." Dotcom was answering again but Jayde was still staring out the window, trying hard not to react as Joker's fingers found their way to the loose top of her camo pants. After Dotcom's answer, Joker was speaking again, his voice fairly casual.

"You two already know everything, yes?" he asked, as if nothing else was happening, even though his fingers had just snuck behind Jayde's underwear to the already somewhat sticky folds behind it. His eyebrows raised as he and Jayde both looked at each other simultaneously, her gaze narrowed. The corners of his scarred mouth twitched upward when he pushed two fingers inside of her and she exhaled heavily, turning her head to look out the window again, trying incredibly hard not to convey to Dotcom and Tre that anything was happening in the back seat. A moment later, Joker withdrew his fingers to wipe them on her pants with a smirk, raising his arm to rest on the back of the seat behind her. He turned his head, leaning to the side a bit to put his lips close to her ear.

"So since you're my lady now, that means I can have you _anywhere_…right?" he asked quietly, his voice barely above audible. He pulled back, arching an eyebrow at her in the dark as she looked up at him. She nodded, smirking. "_Good_ to know..."

Being that Jayde was distracted for the rest of the ride by Joker twirling the end of her ponytail around his finger absentmindedly while he went through his phone, the journey to the docks did not seem to take as long as it had the last time. At a quarter to nine, the heavy Escalade pulled up along the side of a large warehouse, just next to the water, on the other side of the channel from the water processing plant they had visited recently. Jayde noticed a few moments later when Dotcom left the car running but got out along with Tre, just as Joker tapped her knee.

"You're going with those guys," he explained, pointing through the windshield at Dotcom, who had stopped and was now waiting for her. Jayde looked up, puzzled but was given no time for a question when Joker continued. "I gotta go do something before we have our little 'meeting', so…" He twirled his hand, re-pointing at the door with a short whistle through his teeth. Finally, even though she was still fairly confused, Jayde obeyed him, crawling out through the side door of the Escalade as Joker followed her, only to take a step and climb into the driver's seat. The window was still down so Jayde paused there, looking up him, hoping he was about to say something else. He glanced over before he rested his elbow on the door, leaning towards her slightly. "When everyone starts arriving, you just stand there and don't say a word to anyone, even if someone asks you a question." He paused to shift the truck into reverse. "Don't deliberately make eye contact with anyone, either." He then added, just before he began rolling up the heavily tinted window, slowly disappearing behind a black shade of sorts as she walked away, joining Dotcom and Tre, who had chosen to stop and wait for her.

Jayde tried not to listen to the fading sound of the Escalade as it crunched along the docks but in no time it seemed, Tre and Dotcom were leading her inside a huge room, faintly illuminated by partially burnt out lights high above them. The sound of their boots echoed slightly as they walked over to the walls, toward a cheap metal table that had been placed there somewhat recently; she noticed there was no dust on it, unlike just about everything else in this particular building. When she noticed, through the slight haze of taking everything in about her surroundings, that Dotcom and Tre were speaking, she turned to them, walking over.

"Alright, so you guys have to tell me what is happening here." she half-demanded, placing her hands on her hips as she glanced back and forth up at the two of them. They looked to each other quickly before Tre cleared his throat, nodding over toward the middle of the room.

"See those chairs over there?" he asked, pausing to let Jayde turn to notice a large, tight spiral of cheap metal chairs in a circle in the middle of the room. It could easily seat thirty people, leaving a three or four foot circular space in the very middle. Jayde's stomach turned over. "All of them are gonna be filled within a half an hour, _then _your _boyfriend_…" he paused, smirking toothily when Jayde gave a little gasp. "-is going to 'address' them." The moment he stopped talking, Jayde lowered her head a little, glaring at him as he grinned. It had become such habit almost for her to say, 'he is _not _my _boyfriend_', but…in a way…he kind of _was. _Instead, she took a few steps away, rolling her eyes.

"I take it he told you, then," she stated, glancing back at Tre as he made a face, nodding fervently, although a second later he shrugged, tossing a hand.

"I guessed," he admitted as he went back to looking down a list of names. "-But he confirmed." He then added, glancing up to wink at her as her cheeks went pink.

As Tre had predicted, it wasn't long before men, some younger, some middle aged, all wearing the same uniform as Jayde and her roommates, started arriving, some in groups, some singularly. Each one however, was made to stop at the entrance to the room so Dotcom could pass over them with the metal detector before they took a step forward for Tre to check their name off of a list. Jayde could not help but feel reminded strongly of an exclusive night club…_Club Chaos…_she thought vaguely, trying hard not to grin to herself. The seats were beginning to fill up one by one as Tre and Dotcom cleared people into the room and as she watched, Jayde noticed that Joker had been right; there were no other females attending the Joker's 'meeting' besides herself…She kind of liked it that way.

Remembering the Joker's instructions, Jayde kept her mouth shut firmly although no one was paying her any attention, even though she did catch a couple of the younger guys glancing in her direction before they would turn to their friend next to them and mutter something inaudible. It seemed there was an almost funeral home-type calm over the building, a deep, somewhat dark silence to the room…Jayde figured this was only because the Joker had not arrived yet.

After only twenty minutes or so, all thirty chairs were now full, the shape of the spiral more pronounced now by all the different hair and skin tones. Dotcom and Tre were both still standing where they had been previously and all three of them watched the men as they started glancing around somewhat anxiously, waiting for something to happen. Jayde glanced over at Tre, only to notice his finger at his side motion for her to walk toward him and stand next to him. She did this and glanced up at him briefly, only to jump slightly when the heavy metal door to the building suddenly swung open with a loud, rusty groan, slamming shut a moment later like a clap of thunder after the Joker had stepped in briskly. Without missing a beat nor looking at his three roommates, Joker strode toward the middle of the room with a semi-automatic handgun clutched firmly in his black glove. Jayde watched the tails of his coat billow and flap behind him slightly as he went, unable to help the giant goosebumps that rose up along her arms; the energy in the entire building had just changed drastically.

"Gentlemen!" He greeted all of them loudly as he reached the outside of the spiral, wasting no time in bringing up his foot to climb over the back row of chairs, placing his hands on a few men's heads for support as he went. A few times, she could hear the gun in his hand clunk against skulls dully. Jayde tightened her lips to keep from laughing or even grinning at this. He continued climbing over the men somewhat clumsily, stepping on their legs until he finally reached that circle in the middle, holding his hands out as he landed, as if he had just done an acrobatic trick. All eyes in the room were now on him and Jayde was not surprised when he took it in stride; he did not seem like the type for stage-fright.

"So I trust the two upstanding gentlemen at the door divided you all into three groups, yes?" His voice was loud yet clowny and still raspy as he turned on the spot a bit, taking a few steps, nodding around at the men. A few of them nodded back bravely, hardly daring to make visual contact with the two deep, black circles around the Joker's eyes. "So group 1, show me who you are." He then instructed, turning when he noticed the entire outside row of men raise a finger or two, indicating their group. Joker nodded, pointing at one of them. "You guys are wiring GU buildings one and two. Maintenance uniforms will be in the bags by the door when you leave. Group two?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he turned again, pointing when the next group raised their hands slightly. "You guys have buildings two and three. I'm assuming the rest of you are group three so you guys will be surrounding the bases of the buildings in random places, keeping people away while the other two teams work…_quickly." _Joker finally growled, turning on the spot again, pacing a few steps in one direction, before another, glancing at the men surrounding him. His voice rose again.

"In two days, all of you will receive specific instructions on where to meet, what to do and an address for where to go. If _any _of you fail to show up at the designated time and place, I _will _find out and you _will _be punished for your…_disloyalty," _Joker paused, holding out his hands with a cheesy smile. "I've got eyes in the back of my head, fellas…" he added, pointing at one guy as though he was the only one who had understood what he said. A moment later, he raised his eyebrows, bouncing back on his heels a bit as he held out his hands. "Any questions?"

A guy behind him cleared his throat, leaning forward slightly as the Joker turned to face him. "Yeah, do we-" A split second later, Jayde couldn't help but jump, even with the silencer as Joker raised the gun in his hand, firing one shot point blank into the middle of the man's forehead. The room was suddenly ringing with an evil, somewhat unexpected new energy as Joker lowered his head, turning to look around at the man, trying hard not to convey through their expressions that they had been startled by this. Joker's shoulders hunched slightly as he turned, glaring at all of them.

"If there was _anything _ about what I just said that you didn't understand, you're clearly an _idiot _and don't deserve to be working for me." he growled, bristling slightly as the room fell incredibly silent, seemingly vibrating in angst. "Any other questions, ask the person sitting next to you." He paused, twirling a finger as his eyes rolled to the ceiling briefly. "Aaaand to the marginally intelligent ones here, if any one asks ya a question, put 'em down for me."

With that, Joker moved from the middle of the circle to the edge where he began climbing over again, and only then could Jayde see a puddle of thick, sickly red blood forming an oozing pool on the far side of the spiral. It seemed, as Joker made his way to the back row, that the men understood without instruction that they were not to move until the Joker had left the room and stayed perfectly still, not even daring to look back over their shoulder at him as he stalked toward the door.

At first, Jayde expected him to simply walk past her and the two other guys like he had before, but as he approached, he shifted the gun from his right to his left hand, reaching out to grab her wrist and pull her along with him, his stride even and long. She followed without question, honestly a little glad that he had decided randomly to take her with him; that killing of his had caught her a little off-guard. It seemed Tre and Dotcom knew what to do and ignored the Joker and Jayde as they walked toward the door to step out.

The air outside was vastly more clean and refreshing and Jayde took a deep breath in as she trotted along beside the Joker, trying to keep up with his long, determined strides. His fingers were still closed tightly around her wrist and now Jayde was twisting it back and forth, trying to wrench it from his grasp, but he just held tighter, his gaze set on the Escalade. They reached it after only a minute, pausing momentarily for Joker to pull out the keys and unlock it before he allowed her to climb in before him. The second the door closed behind them, Joker exhaled heavily, reaching up to push some of his green hair away from his face.

"_That _was fun," he stated somewhat loudly, his voice clowny and bouncy although a moment later, he leaned forward, between the two front seats to push the keys into the ignition. The Escalade started with a faint roar, pushing wonderful, cold air conditioning into the car and the radio came on, quietly playing some sort of rap song with a heavy bass. After locking the doors, Joker glanced over at Jayde, who had been watching him rather intently, mildly excited to see what was supposed to happen next. His eyes flickered down from her face to her exposed hips before back up. Motioning with his finger for her to follow him, he crouched as he took a step back, plopping down into the very back bench of the enormous SUV, waiting for her to join him before he placed his arm behind her on the seat. The rap song was still playing quietly in the background when she spoke up.

"You know…You're kinda hot when you're in charge of that many people." She stated, watching through the window as the guys now filed out of the warehouse in the distance, going to their various vehicles. Her head turned to look up at him when she felt his expression change. His face was lowered a bit closer to hers now so their lips were inches away when she had turned to look at him. His gaze drifted from her eyes to her pretty mouth before he answered, his voice low and gravely.

"I think you're just a sucker fa' green hair." he answered, showing off that sexy Chicago accent Jayde had only noticed in his voice once or twice before. He bounced his eyebrows, causing the rings around his eyes to stretch and tighten quickly. Jayde smirked, turning her attention back to the window, watching a few guys walk right past the truck, apparently oblivious that the Joker was watching…sort of…He was finding himself a little distracted at the moment. A second later, Jayde glanced down with just her eyes when she felt Joker's right hand sneak across her lap to the baggy cargo pocket on the outside of her left leg. His hand suddenly tightened into a fist around a handful of material before he pulled hard, forcefully lifting her to straddle his lap in one smooth motion. She gasped quietly when his hand moved from her pants to the small of her back and she arched slightly, sighing at the feel of his cool leather glove against her skin.

Without hesitation, as if she had known he would do this, Jayde's lips met his, apparently beyond caring about the red and white makeup around his mouth. He kissed her hungrily in response, tightening his grip on her hips when she forced her tongue into his mouth to lightly trace along the inner contour of his upper lip. After only a few moments, however, she pulled away, biting down on her bottom lip when Joker's eyes opened slowly, nothing but deep black holes with a slight glimmer in the middle from where his eyes had glossed over and dilated.

"What about Tre and Dotcom?" she asked, ignoring the fact that Joker had reached down with both hands and started untying her black boots on either side of him.

"They're going to make sure everything gets started the right way," he answered, his voice raspy and clowny, just before it dropped an entire octave. "_So, _that means you have a _whole hour _to ride my dick, ya feel me…" Jayde gasped, dropping her jaw slightly as she rocked forward, resting her hands on his shoulders, only to let them slide down to the buttons on his vest, to start undoing them one at a time.

"Is _that _what this is all about?" she purred, rocking forward again until her long ponytail could fall over her shoulder. "You want some of this pussy?" she then asked sassily, touching the middle of her top lip with the tip of her tongue as she tried to figure out where Joker's eyes were looking. A second later, she gasped with a whimper when his hand reached out, his lips tightening in a snarl as he grabbed a tight hold of her ponytail, pulling her head back sharply. His teeth sank into the tightened curve of her neck as he leaned forward, his chest pressed against Jayde's as she arched her back as far as it would go, practically bending in half backward while he pulled hard enough on her hair to pull it clean off. The pressure released momentarily as he let go for a second, only to reach up and pull the hair tie out, letting her long, straight, sleek hair fall over her shoulders and around her face. A moment later, he reached up, hitting a button above and behind Jayde to turn up the new song that had just come on the radio. She took his opportunity while he had it exposed to lean forward and let her tongue slip out to lightly trace along his neck over that one incredibly sensitive spot she had memorized. With his vest now undone, Jayde reached out, untucking his shirt hastily.

She had been so busy trying unsuccessfully to torture him by kissing his neck that she hardly noticed when her black boots slid off of her feet and Joker's hand had now moved to the front of her belt, unbuckling it swiftly. From his actions and his staggered breathing, Jayde was getting the feeling that grabbing her as he left the building was not part of his original plan. It seemed he needed more of a release for the anxiety and energy he was feeling than just shooting a man in the face. Jayde was glad she could help…She gasped when Joker pulled her away from his neck with a tight fist clamped around a bunch of her hair in the back, growling in slight aggravation as he looked up at her, eyeing her moist, swollen lips as they glimmered a bit in the faint moonlight.

"Take these off." He instructed firmly, releasing her hair as she moved somewhat awkwardly to slide her baggy camo pants off. While she did that, Joker leaned forward slightly, removing his vest to let the straps of his suspenders slip from his shoulders to rest on the leather seat on either side of him. Another half-second later, Jayde was straddling his lap again, smelling _incredible…_The animal in him could practically taste the pheromones her body was putting off.

The bass from the song playing behind them vibrated the Escalade slightly but neither minded and Jayde had just rocked her hips forward, arching her back when Joker reached out, sliding his leather gloved hands onto her perfect curves, tracing her hipbones with his thumbs. Honestly, Jayde liked the feeling of his bare hands, but as she looked down, she noticed that she kind of _loved _the way the black leather looked and felt against her skin. Joker pushed two of those fingers inside of her without warning, assuming that she was already wet again and practically dripping all over his lap. She sighed, tilting her head back to moan softly but snapped out of it after only a second, deciding spontaneously that she was tired of being played with.

"Stop," she told him, wrapping her short fingers around his wrist to pull his fingers out and away from her. Once she had let him go, her hands reached out, unbuttoning the old-fashioned triple buttons to his pants as quickly as her fingers would move, undoing the zipper a moment later. Joker let out a deep laugh, slouching slightly in the seat to watch and give her more room to reach behind his boxers, tugging them down a bit inside his pants to release him. As hard as he tried not to react at the touch of her hand, he could not stop his breath from catching quietly in his chest when she wrapped those delightful little fingers around him, barely able to touch her fingernails together around the width.

Of course, Jayde had chosen to wear that one pair of black, lacy, boy cut underwear, but Joker was finding himself totally beyond any more teasing and reached out quickly as the song changed, tugging the soaked crotch of her underwear to the side. Honestly, an hour was not much time and they had already wasted almost fifteen of those sixty just teasing each other; Joker would be lucky if Jayde could make him finish within that time frame while in this position. He wouldn't necessarily care, but Jayde might have a few issues with Tre and Dotcom arriving and her still be half-naked, sitting on his dick. _Speaking of…_

Jayde's back curved into a sharp arch when Joker pulled her hips down onto him, pushing into her forcefully as she clenched tight. Something, perhaps this position, made it sting a little this time but the moment she swung her hips forward, immediately finding a rhythm atop him, she sighed, opening her eyes to meet his. Leaning forward slightly, she met her lips with his, kissing him deeply as she started slow, hoping to make him think she was still really bad at this. Joker responded to her kiss, catching the corner of her top lip between his teeth, his hands gliding from her hips up along her sides, sliding the black shirt along with them. Jayde pulled away to shiver at the cool, slick feel of his gloves along her skin but also to watch his reaction to her change in pace. A second later, she placed her forearms on his shoulders, immediately switching it up to rock only her hips, bouncing her ass slightly, while keeping her upper body completely still. She grinned when Joker grunted a breathless laugh, taking his hands away from her to place his arms behind the headrests on either side of him.

"Oh, _really _now_…"_ he growled, arching his eyebrows. "Ya know, you're _almost _better at this than all those _black girls _I've fucked." He then went on, his voice taunting yet joking and he laughed as Jayde made a noise as if he had offended her, smacking him on the chest. She rose up to her knees a moment later, pulling him out of her completely to scowl down at him in the darkness. The corner of his lip twitched upward in his snarl before he reached out, placing his hands on her hips lightly, only to thrust his hips up and tug her down at the same time, forcing himself back into her to the hilt. She cried out as he growled, "Did I say you could stop fuckin' me, girl?"

As Jayde swung her hips back into that dangerous rhythm, she leaned forward slightly, placing her face next to his while her other hand slid into his hair. Joker barely noticed this and was too busy listening to Jayde's whimpers and sighs right in his ear to notice her fingers making their way to the back, most sensitive part of his scalp. A moment later, her fingers tightened hard around his hair, giving him a taste of his own medicine for a change as she pulled, forcing his head back. Surprisingly, Joker groaned, panting a few times as his grip grew hard enough to leave bruises on her hip and back of her thigh.

Now, as her hips fell onto him, Joker used his hands to force her down heavily each time, closing his eyes as Jayde refused to let go of his hair. Something about his exposed, defined jaw line was driving her on and she moved to his neck, kissing him, biting him as he growled, tilting his head back further. She giggled against his warm skin as she sent him to pieces. Honestly, it felt incredible and she _wanted _to get off but driving Joker up the wall was a little too fun to quit now.

"You glad I'm your baby?" she asked, her voice somewhat raspy and lower than normal as she pulled back to watch him. It was obvious his brain was not running at full capacity but he somehow managed to answer with a deep, gravely voice.

"You have _no _idea," he answered honestly, finally looking down at his lap when Jayde released her hold on his hair. The sensation of his impending, rather surprising release had just begun to work itself up in his midsection and he tried hard to fight it, trying with everything he had to focus his mind elsewhere. But of course, the moment he managed to think of something else, he felt Jayde pick up her pace only the slightest bit, however, this was all he needed to tilt his head back against the seat and close his eyes as he felt himself about to finish. A moment later, Jayde grabbed hold of his tie, pulling him back up so she could plant her lips firmly against his as he came, groaning into her mouth while his hands rested on her hips, forcing her all the way onto him to reach as deeply as possible one more time. Jayde pulled back from their kiss a few seconds later, giggling breathlessly as Joker breathed hard, even from just sitting there while she did the work.

"_Jayde," _he began in an incredulous sort of tone. "I turned you _out_, girl." He went on to comment, his voice extra raspy as he rezipped his pants and put his vest back on, undone. She giggled as she clambered awkwardly back into her camo pants; the boots could stay off.

"What do you mean?" she asked, finally sitting down next to him as he sighed, running his fingers through the front of his hair to push it from his face. She had only ever heard black guys use this term before.

"I mean I turned out the little…_monster _in you…" he explained, leaning forward to crawl on his knees to reach in between the two very font seats. "I mean not even six months ago, you had no idea what you were doing." At the two middle seats, he paused, reaching over to roll one of the windows down before continuing to the back where Jayde still sat. He winked at her as he sat down next to her. "And now look atcha…Ridin' better than the black girls." He finished jokingly, taking a cigarette from Tre's pack of menthols he had left in the truck earlier. Jayde smiled up at him, shifting slightly as he stretched out along the back seat to lean against the wall of the car behind him and she took that as her invitation to lay alongside him, practically on top of him with the back of her head against his chest.

. His chest rose and feel deeply as he hit the cigarette, only before he reached out, holding it out in front of Jayde's face for her to take and his arm moved to wrap gently across her chest, gripping her far shoulder. Jayde inhaled deeply, loving the way his bare hands felt on her after his gloves had come off and she was just admiring the strength and shape of his hand for the thousandth time when she jumped at the sudden sound of crunchy trudging of boots outside the open window. Dotcom's head and shoulders appeared a moment later, peering into the back until he noticed Joker's blank glare and Jayde's silly, somewhat guilty grin. His eyebrow arched as he glanced back and forth between them but then continued on to the driver's seat. Tre had just gotten in on the other side when Joker took another deep drag from the cigarette.

"Well, that was a pretty successful…_'meeting'_, don't you think?" Joker asked in a falsely casual tone, his voice loud and clowny, although a second later, Tre turned full around in his seat to face them, one notched eyebrow arched sharply as his eyes bounced from the Joker's down to Jayde's and back up a few times.

"…You guys just fucked in here, didn't you." He asked after several moments, his voice flat. Without missing a beat, Joker nodded once.

"Uh- yes, we did." He answered, finishing the cigarette with one last hit while Tre rolled his eyes, Jayde let out a gasp and Dotcom groaned with a wrinkled nose.

A/N: YAY! NEW CHAPTER! NEXT COUPLE CHAPTERS WILL BE THE LAST BEFORE WE START THE ENDINGS. AND I HAVE A LITTLE 'CONTEST' IN THE WORKS FOR YOU GUYS TOO SO STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS. LEAVE A REVIEW AND THE NEXT ONE COMES OUT SOONER = ] LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT IT! –QoM

P.S. Exodus 10:21-29 and Exodus 11:4-8 NIV


	30. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

After a surprisingly short drive back from the docks and after Joker had taken a rather extensive shower, he had just emerged on the top landing when he noticed Tre through the glass, sitting outside on the patio, seemingly staring off into space. His eyebrows arched severely as he trotted down the stairs, a towel wrapped into a tight turban around his hair on the top of his head and he only glanced up in time to see Tre look over and roll his eyes after they had flickered to the towel. The glass slid open as Joker stepped out, frowning.

"What?" he asked tersely at Tre's expression, sitting down at the table across from him. His best friend grunted a laugh, shaking his head as he reached out, handing him a freshly lit blunt.

"Ya towel, bruh," he answered in that deep, black-guy voice, motioning with one lazy finger at the ridiculous method of hair-drying Joker had chosen. Across from him, he was bringing the cigar up to take a deep drag and hand it back. After a few seconds, Joker exhaled.

"Listen, Tre…" he began, leaning forward slightly, trying to be menacing with a towel turban on his head. Tre tried to widen his droopy eyes as Joker pointed a finger, but only to drop his hand to the table with a thud a moment later. "…I dunno…I was gonna make a black joke, but I'm a little outta steam." He admitted with a shrug, accepting the blunt back from Tre as he laughed.

"Yeah, I imagine," Tre replied, scrunching his nose slightly. "Next time, if you guys really did fuck in the car, just lie and say you didn't, man, ok?" Joker snorted a laugh through his nose, shaking his head with a frown as though Tre had been stupid for suggesting such a thing.

"Um, no." he answered, his eyebrows furrowed down at the blunt as he readjusted the cigar paper. A moment later, his finger pointed at Tre. "I'm _not_ gonna do that…because it makes you and Dotcom uncomfortable…" he tilted his head to the side, smiling widely. "…And I like it." Tre tossed a hand with a heavy roll of his eyes while Joker paused. "Did everyone seem fairly competent at the dorms tonight? I mean, there aren't any unmistakable idiots, are there?" Tre shrugged, accepting the blunt back.

"Not that I saw," he answered, taking a hit. "Everyone seemed with it. James, the one guy we met with earlier called a few minutes ago and says everything is ready." He looked over, arching his eyebrows. "And the buildings go up on Monday night?" When Joker nodded, Tre shook his head, passing the blunt back across the table. "Do you feel any different today?" he asked a few moments later, waiting until Joker had taken a long drag from the cigar to continue. "…now thatcha got a little…_girlfriend?" _Just as he expected, Joker coughed loudly across the table, releasing all the smoke in his lungs in one large, surprised puff. He turned slowly to glare at Tre as his eyes started to water.

"Say it one more time, Tre…say it _one _more time…" he growled, pointing a finger threateningly, still failing miserably with the towel on top of his head. Tre laughed, leaning forward to smack Kieron's hand out of the air.

"Man, call it whatever you want, bruh. You got a _girl _now…I'm _sure _you feel different." He countered, raising one eyebrow as Joker rolled his eyes upward, squinting slightly as he contemplated. A moment later, he shrugged, a simple, undisturbed smile on his face.

"Nope, I really don't feel any different," he answered with finality, but went on to finish making his point thoroughly. "Things are pretty much the _exact _same…And ya know?…I'm really glad." As Tre continued to nod his head slowly, Joker's content grin dissolved rapidly before he huffed irritably, crossing his arms like a frustrated, confused child. "Just shut up, I don't even know what the hell I'm talking about." He then snapped, but now Tre was laughing audibly, patting the table.

"Do you not realize how _great_ this feels to me?" he asked, still chuckling but continued when Joker looked up, frowning. "Ki, _I _was always the one confused about shit. You're always so smart with logical, rational stuff like making up plans and all that…and I'm not that good at learning, bruh, but I _always _been good with girls. Now _you're _the one looking like a dumbass about _this_ girl and I just get to sit here…and watch." A huge, toothy smile spread over Tre when Joker's entire face relaxed simultaneously.

"…I hate you."

Tre tossed his head back slightly as he laughed at his best friend, although across the table, Joker was not finding it so funny. He had been honest; that entire day had not felt any different from the rest of them since Jayde had come to live at the house. Sure, she might end up sleeping in his bed every night but she was already doing that fairly regularly. Of course, she may just walk straight up and kiss him or vice versa, but that was already something he had let himself fall into the habit of doing. Life literally felt NO different since he and Jayde had made things 'real' and for the life of him, Joker could not figure out if it was a good or bad thing. Asking Tre for advice on that seemed a little out of the question at the time being…now that Joker knew he enjoyed it so very much…With a shrug and a glance over his shoulder into the house where Dotcom had just come downstairs, Joker stood up, pulling the towel from the top of his head to let his damp, messy green hair into his face.

"Tre, I _told you," _he said loudly enough for Dotcom to hear as he slid open the glass door. "I'm _sorry _you have feelings for me, but I like _girls, _mate. Maybe one day you'll find the perfect guy for you!" he exclaimed, disappearing into the house with a loud cackle as the content grin slid from Tre's face in record time.

From upstairs in her room, Jayde smirked to herself when she heard Joker's loud, obnoxious laugh on the stairs. She had just emerged from the shower and stepped into clean pajama pants when she heard his more than likely mismatched socks shuffling slightly on the carpet outside her room. A moment later, he slid into the room without hesitation, dropping the towel carelessly on his way to the bed, where he pulled back the covers and slipped between them without even pausing to acknowledge that Jayde was in the room, half-dressed. He sighed heavily in content as he turned onto his side, pulling almost every pillow Jayde had into his grasp. She stood behind him with a blank expression on her face, one hand holding a towel to her chest, the other rested on her hip. Joker seemed to sense that she was staring at him as he slowly turned his head, opening one eye to peer up over his shoulder at her.

"Ya gonna lay down or what?" he asked rather loudly after a few seconds, turning back over to hoard her pillows while she finished slipping into a thin long-sleeved shirt. She joined him only a minute later, turning off the lamp as she sat down, only to toss her hands as she looked over at him, using all four of her pillows in different areas of his body- one between his knees, one under his head and two clutched to the front of him. She sighed, reaching out to grab one roughly and pull it away from him, groaning when he tightened his grip.

"If you're going to sleep in here, you can't have all of my pillows. I need at least two of those." She pointed out, turning to face him, sitting indian-style on the bed as he buried his face into the top pillow, shrugging his shoulders.

"Go get some from my room," he suggested somewhat politely. Jayde stared at his exposed arm and the circular tattoo up at the top of it near his shoulder.

"…I'm gonna bite you." She warned quickly, watching when she noticed Joker's eyebrow arch around the edge of the pillow. He tsk-ed dismissively.

"No you're _not…"_ he growled, chuckling as though the thought was funny but a moment later, when Jayde leaned forward to sink her teeth into his upper arm, Joker cried out dramatically, flicking her hard behind the ear with his middle finger. "OW!" he shouted, tossing two of Jayde's pillows across the room, staring down at the bright red teeth-prints on his skin while she giggled.

"I _told _you-…"

"Yeah, I know! Christ, Jayde, what are you? _Five?"_

"It _worked, _didn't it?"

"Yep, now you gotta get up and go _all the way _over there to get 'em…" he eventually supplied in a voice that suggested his criminally masterminded plan had just come to fruition.

Being that Joker had thrown the pillows behind him, Jayde decided to climb over him as heavily as she could, giggling when he groaned, his hand still clamped over the place she had bitten. She returned another second later, climbing over him again, making sure the pillow traveled over his head until she could place it at the head of the bed, laying down next to him. A moment later, he groaned, turning over to put his back to her and she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"And you call _me _a baby…" she murmured, turning onto her side to reach out and gently start scratching his bare back, slowly, methodically as she listened to the low sound of the tv. Joker did not respond but after only a minute of her nails lightly raking across his skin, he took a deep breath to keep from shivering noticeably. Jayde noticed the muscles in his back tighten a bit but she stayed quiet; she knew he wasn't really mad, but scratching his back never hurt.

Unfortunately, after nearly five minutes, Joker's breathing had grown fairly deep and even and it seemed as though he was not going to turn over again. Jayde sighed somewhat disappointedly, ceasing her hand's motion as she yawned, reaching down for the tv remote to turn it off and turn over to get comfortable. Facing the window now, with her back to the Joker, Jayde took a deep breath in through her nose, only to hold it when she felt movement on the bed behind her. A moment later, Joker exhaled sleepily as his arm wrapped around her side, curling around her hip to pull her across the bed toward him. He adjusted to get comfortable again before he hmm-ed contentedly.

"You _are_ a baby…" he grumbled in her ear.

Of course, Jayde was not surprised to find herself alone in the bed the next morning but wasted no time to be annoyed before she got up and stepped into jeans and a shirt. After brushing her teeth, she stepped out onto the second story landing, smirking when she noticed all three of her roommates downstairs. Tre and Joker were seated at the table, both reading something different while Dotcom sat outside, his phone in pieces on the table before him as he peered at one part interestedly. Joker must have heard her as he glanced up, letting his gaze flicker up and down her once before he went back to his reading. Jayde was a little surprised to see he had already applied his makeup and it looked a bit more smudged than usual.

"Good morning," she greeted them cordially, walking right past the table to the kitchen for a cup of coffee as Tre grunted hello distractedly and Joker cleared his throat, shifting slightly in his chair. Jayde grinned to herself at Joker's messy morning hair; it never looked the same, always messed up in a different way. _Mildly composed chaos, _came to mind.

In the kitchen, Jayde opened the cabinet, looking up to find that her favorite mug, the one she used almost every day was freshly cleaned and sitting on the bottom shelf, waiting for her. Her smile expanded as she pulled it down and turned it right side up, only to pour the steaming hot, deliciously scented coffee into the mug. The sugar was next and after stirring a spoonful into it, Jayde took a sip, cringing a bit at the somewhat surprising bitterness to it that morning. Dotcom was usually really good at making the coffee somewhat flavored, so well, in fact, Jayde had stopped using crème or milk in it and had started taking it almost black. Perhaps he had used a new, bolder bag of grinds that morning.

Over at the table, Joker and Tre were still reading quietly, both with a glass of orange juice. Joker had apparently separated the news paper section by section and was now buried behind it, only the very edge of his face visible around the side. Jayde sat down at the head of the table between them, glancing at both of them somewhat awkwardly as they ignored her, silently reading, turning a page or two. Honestly, she kind of felt a little like a nerdy freshman girl that had come over to sit down at the cool, senior guys table, but Jayde wanted to make this happen. So she reached out determinedly, pulled a section of the newspaper toward her and picked it up, folding it in half to place it on the table in front of her. She leaned forward slightly, taking another deep sip of her coffee.

Of course, Jayde had accidentally chosen the 'Arts & Leisure' page and had just bored herself through the first half of the article when she blinked hard a few times down at the letters. For some reason, they were starting to blur and run together, forming long black strands across the page. Jayde sat up quickly, blinking hard several more times as her vision swam violently and her hands dropped to the table heavily. To either side of her, Tre had stopped reading and Joker was slowly lowering the newspaper, revealing just his eyes as he watched her intently. She took a deep breath, blinking slowly now as she turned her head only slightly to look at Joker, her eyes wide with lethargic panic. Her chair moved back from the table like she was about to get up and make a run for it, although Joker had a feeling she would not get very far.

"…-poisoned me?" she only managed to ask the last half of her question but Joker did not answer and instead, counted out loud to himself quietly.

"_Five…four…" _

"Ki," Tre said loudly, glancing from Jayde to Joker and back again as he watched her lose control closely, as if this was a part of some sick experiment. "_Kieron." _Tre repeated his full name as Jayde swayed dangerously and he reached out, grabbing her mug of coffee to move it out of the way quickly before she fell forward and Joker's hands moved out just in time to prevent her head from thunking hard against the table. One second went by where the two of them looked at each other before Joker burst out laughing and Tre cussed loudly.

"You _poisoned _her?" he shouted, catching Dotcom's attention through the glass and he immediately stood up once he looked over his shoulder to see Joker and Tre standing on either side of an unconscious Jayde. Joker shook his head, bent slightly from laughing.

"_NO!" _he answered, lifting Jayde's head and shoulders so she could sit up in the chair, her entire body limp. "No, I just…_drugged_ her." He went on to explain, glancing over at the door as Dotcom walked in with a confused yet slightly angry expression on his face.

"Drugged her?" He repeated, taking off his glasses. "With _what?" _

Joker shrugged, glancing from Dotcom to Tre and back again. "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide…" he finally answered as though he had given her an Advil but jumped with a frown when Dotcom shouted.

"LSD?" he repeated, tossing his hands.

"-And a _mild_ sedative, just so I could get her upstairs…" he explained, but this seemed to only make things worse as Dotcom walked over to Jayde, pulling back her eyelids to look at her pupils.

"Ya _know, _I'm pretty sure you don't gotta _drug _her if you want some-…" Tre supplied but Joker cut across him.

"No, that's not what this is. Dotcom, go get your video camera and lights. Tre, help me carry her upstairs to the office. We gotta do this fast before she wakes up, 'cause…she's not going to be very happy when she does." He gave off instructions, pausing to chuckle but Dotcom still seemed unhappy and rolled his eyes as he walked to the stairs to obey the boss.

By the time Joker and Tre had moved Jayde into the office, onto Joker's thick purple comforter that he had bunched up in the corner, Dotcom was entering the room with a set of lights and his fancy video camera. And now with Jayde crumpled in a corner on a blanket like a dog after surgery, Dotcom started setting up the lights while Joker walked over to his desk, pulling out a large notebook to rip out the first page.

"Alright, so, here's the deal…" Joker began, walking back over but all three of the conscious people in the room stopped dead when Jayde gave a small whimper in the corner, moving her arm slightly.

Jayde's entire body tingled violently as she opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times as she tried to sit up. The room was very dark, save for a few moving lights, in different colors, changing all the time as her eyes swiveled around. This was unlike any room she had ever been in and she somehow managed to wonder if she was alone when she heard a deep voice, laced with a high-pitched, demonic whisper as it spoke in her ear.

"_Jayde…"_

Was that her name?

"Jayde, are you ssssssscared?" the voice of a snake asked.

Joker had knelt down and now Tre and Dotcom were watching as he inched toward her lowering his shoulders like some animal as he waited for her vision to find him. That morning, he had purposely smeared the black around his eyes upwards and the red next to his mouth downward, making the dimensions of his face more terrifying…especially to a girl on LSD.

"Jayde, do you see me?" he asked quietly, his voice lower than usual, knowing her hearing was playing tricks on her; there was no telling how he sounded inside her mind just then. Her head turned slowly to face him as she remained curled up on her side, just before she let out a raspy cry, inching away from him as her trip went from bad to nightmarish in a matter of two seconds. His lips curled into a horrific, evil grin as she struggled clumsily to move back away from him. Her hands reached out as her eyes went wide, desperate to keep this monster with spiders crawling from the black holes in its face as far from her as possible. Joker turned back to Dotcom as Jayde's chest began to heave.

"Toss me that syringe and start recording on my signal," he instructed quietly, glancing back at Jayde as her eyes traveled up the wall beside her, her back fully pressed into the corner. Another sharp cry left her when all the ha-ha-ha's on the wall began to ooze thick, dark red blood but the monster from before was reaching out to grab her wrists. She struggled as it pulled her closer.

"NO!" she screamed, shaking her head. "_Please don't kill me," _her voice shook and quivered so badly, she could hardly speak. Joker reached out behind him, asking for the camera from Dotcom, taking his video in a new direction. With the camera between his hands, Joker pressed record, scooting closer to her to hold it down, pointed up at her slightly while she trembled in fear from head to toe. He took a deep breath when he felt that familiar sense of malice creeping up inside of him but shook it off a moment later, trying to force himself to remember that this was _Jayde, _not a victim.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked, his voice clowny and raspy. Jayde shook her head back and forth slowly but answered in a strange croak, 'Joker'. He nodded, pushing the camera closer to her. "_Right…_Do you want me to hurt you?" he asked simply, reaching out with one hand to grab a hold of her wrist and yank her forward slightly. She cried out again, her voice breaking as giant tears began to well up along her lower lash line. Joker watched this from only a foot or so, making sure to keep the camera pointed at her. His heart had begun to race although his stomach clenched somewhat uncomfortably when he realized he was really enjoying this. It had been too long since Jayde had been terrified of him.

"I _wont _hurt you if you read this for me. Think ya can do that?" he asked, his voice low again as Jayde shivered, her eyes closed now. His hand reached out, grabbing her jaw roughly between his purple gloved fingers, shaking her slightly as she whimpered, those tears now sliding down her cheeks plentifully. Finally, she nodded, keeping her eyes shut as the monster in front of her pushed a piece of paper into her hands. "_Open your eyes…_" Joker instructed, using that soft, highly false voice of his, watching closely from behind the camera as Jayde finally lifted her eyelids slowly, locking them onto his. Through the hazy, thrilling sense of power floating through his body, Joker felt his stomach turn over at the expression in her eyes. He knew she was only having a horrible trip, but the only other time she had looked at him like this was the first time she saw him after he had taken advantage of her; her eyes had been so full of hurt and fear. He cleared his throat, lifting the piece of paper so she could look down at it.

"Read this without making a mistake and I wont kill you," he offered, his voice bouncy but low and raspy as he inched forward again, trying to ignore the way Jayde's tears dripped from the end of her nose as she looked down at the paper in her hands. The letters blurred all over the page, some of them even moving, some of them turning into spiders. "Gotta _focus _now," he chimed tauntingly a few seconds later, tilting his head to the side as she let out a soft sob. "Your life depends on it…" Jayde took a deep breath.

"From the book of…Exodus," she began, her voice soft, quivering badly.

"_Louder._" Joker barked, ignoring the way she jumped, blinking hard as she swayed.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward the sky…" she mumbled more loudly this time, bringing the paper up closer to her face as her vision cleared slightly, momentarily. "…so that darkness spreads over Egypt-…darkness that can be felt."…she paused here again, her eyes widening when blood began to ooze from the words on the page and she whimpered, panicking as she pushed the paper away from her.

"Ah, ah, _ah, _read it," he growled, pushing the paper back into her hands roughly as she sobbed openly now, curling up into the corner slightly but Joker followed, pushing the camera back into her face. He noticed the faint gray trails on her face from her mascara; he ignored this.

"So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days."

"-three days…" Joker spoke the last couple of words with her, grinning evilly when she threw the paper away from her, only to sob when Joker's hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her closer. "_Good, _Jayde!" he praised in a light-hearted yet sinister voice. "Now, I'm going to read something to _you, _ready?" he snarled, pulling her closer again to put the camera right up to her wide, dilated, panicked blue eyes. "This is what the _Lord _says, Jayde, 'About midnight, I will go throughout Egypt, every first born in Egypt will die, from the first born son of Jim Gordon, to the first born son of Jack and Emily Turner on fourth street. There will be a loud wailing throughout _Egypt, _worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. And all these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, 'Go, you and all the people who follow you',…And after that, I. Will. Leave."

All through his, Jayde had been crying steadily with her eyes closed, her head hanging slightly as Joker spoke but the moment he had turned off the camera, he set it down beside him, reaching out to pull her closer. Joker leaned forward, sitting next to her as he looked up and back at Dotcom and Tre, somewhat surprised that he had almost forgotten they were still in the room. He nodded at Dotcom as he struggled to make Jayde sit still and stop struggling.

"Go get two washcloths and wet 'em," he instructed before he looked at Tre. "You turn the lights off, grab that syringe and help me hold her still."

Dotcom left the room immediately, leaving Tre, Joker and Jayde alone. The lights went out, and being that Joker had already prepared the room and put heavy black drapes over the windows, the room fell dark, save for the faint light from his computer screen across the room. A moment later, Tre was handing Joker the syringe and sitting on the other side of her as she cried softly but as he reached out to gently touch her forearm, Jayde whimpered, jumping at the contact. Joker spoke up, his voice quiet.

"Reach around here and hold both of her arms. This has to go directly into her blood." He explained, moving to crouch in front of Jayde and uncap the sharp syringe. Tre obeyed his instructions, reaching around to her other side to grip both of her upper arms and hold them steady while Joker's fingers wrapped tightly yet gently around her right wrist.

"Is that gonna knock her out again?" Tre asked somewhat hopefully; apparently watching Jayde panic hadn't been all that fun for him either. Joker shook his head, letting go of her wrist to tie a rubber tube around her upper arm, below Tre's hand. He tapped the soft flesh on the inside of her forearm to raise her veins.

"No, but it'll help push the drug out faster," he explained quietly, rolling the fat vein back and forth a few times under his thumb. "Instead of six hours, she should feel pretty sober in about two." With that, the tip of the needle pushed slowly into Jayde's skin and into her vein before Joker pushed the plunger in with his finger, injecting the liquid right into her blood stream. She struggled at first but seemed to understand that she was being helped finally and relaxed against Tre, seemingly still trying to get away from the monster that kept hurting her.

By the time Tre let go of Jayde and Joker had tossed the empty syringe behind him, Dotcom had returned and was handing both of the damp washcloths to Joker as he sat next to Jayde again. Unfolding one, he brought it to his face and began to wipe as much of his greasepaint makeup off as he could, before turning to Jayde again, who, by now had started shivering slightly as her eyes traveled along the floor in front of her.

"Alright, you guys just go for now," he instructed, glancing up at Dotcom, who had seemingly frozen to the spot, a somewhat vexed expression on his face as he watched Jayde. Joker continued, nodding at the door. "She'll be _fine._ I'm gonna stay in here."

Finally, both Tre and Dotcom walked away to the door, opening it quietly to step outside, although the moment the door snapped shut behind them, Jayde whimpered, covering her head with her hands quickly as though the roof were about to cave in. Joker forced back a grin, remembering how _he _had felt during his first trip and instead, he scooted closer to her, pulling on her wrists gently to lower them from the sides of her head. At first, she resisted, whimpering again but Joker let go instantly, placing his arm around her shoulders instead, rocking her more closely to his side.

Jayde's entire body was tense against the Joker's relaxed form but once she had gotten accustomed to the sensation of being next to him, he let his hand move from her shoulder, down her back, slowly, gently before up again. This pattern repeated itself several times before she took a deep breath in through her nose, her eyes sliding shut as her muscles relaxed only slightly. Joker grinned; the medicine was starting to work already.

"What are you feeling?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet and somewhat low as he spoke, hoping to keep putting her at ease. She was still shaking but slowly licked her lips, opening her eyes.

"Cold," she answered, moving her arms to grip herself as she shivered, her eyes now trained on a spot on the floor, although next to her, Joker was moving lightly to stand up. But before rising to his full height, he placed his hand palm side up on her knee, looking up at her as she stared off, her eyes wide.

"C'mon, let's go warm up," he explained quietly, pulling gently when Jayde put her hand in his and allowed him to stand her up; another good sign. However, the moment she had locked her knees to stand, she buckled again as her face scrunched up in another bout of tears.

"No," she whimpered. "I have to stay here." With a slight plop, she dropped back down onto the blanket with a rather pathetic sniffle, curling up on her side as Joker finally allowed himself a laugh, dropping to his knees next to her. His right forearm slid under her knees while the other slid behind her back, only to lift her from the blankets gently. Surprisingly, she didn't struggle; yet _another _good sign…When _Joker _had a bad trip', way back when, Tre and their other friends couldn't get anywhere near him…since he had crawled onto the roof with a twelve-gauge shotgun to protect himself from the fire hydrants that had suddenly turned into little red angry monsters…This was a bit different.

"You don't have to stay here, Jayde," he told her consolingly as he walked to the door to open it from behind her back, stepping out onto the landing. Jayde whimpered at the drastic change in light, turning her head to cover her eyes against his shirt as he walked down to her bedroom, carrying her inside and into the bathroom. Joker set her down on the counter gently just in time; her tears were starting to soak through his shirt. At the moment, Jayde seemed alright to sit by herself on the counter for a few seconds so he could turn on the shower to a warm temperature before he turned back to her.

Luckily, her shivers had died down a bit, leaving her to sit there, her arms still clamped around herself, her eyes closed. Joker sighed with a smirk, reaching out with both hands to place them on either side of her face, tilting it up slightly.

"Open your eyes," he instructed quietly, watching closely as she obeyed him rather reluctantly. Her eyes opened as he had instructed, revealing the slightly red yet shockingly blue color there. Joker felt his stomach drop to somewhere around his ankles; even barely coherent, she was _still_ too pretty. He smiled when her vision seemed to focus on his features. "Know who I am?" he asked, arching an eyebrow when Jayde took a deep breath in through her nose, her shoulders slumping as she exhaled heavily a moment later. She nodded slowly but her nose wrinkled again in more tears and Joker's smile expanded when she reached out one shaky hand, resting it lightly on his chest. Another shiver flowed through her, raising goosebumps along her arms that Joker immediately noticed, and pulled on her arms until she could stand on her feet.

"Come get in here and sit down," he instructed, opening the glass door to the walk-in rectangular shower so she could step past him and into the thin streams of warm water from overhead. Joker watched as she shivered more violently than ever, but then relaxed as she moved to sit down, bringing her knees up to her chest. Her jeans had grown heavy and stiff from the water so she unbuttoned them, leaning to the side slightly so she could kick them off and away from her before she noticed him still standing there. She blinked and squinted as the water splashed over her.

"Are you coming too?…" she asked, her voice hoarse and a bit raspy as she looked up at him. Finally, Joker unfolded his arms, laughing as he stepped in and sat down next to her, ignoring the water now matting down his hair and sticking his shirt to his skin. It seemed Jayde was coming back around more quickly now, probably with thanks to the water and she pushed herself closer to Joker's side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. His cheek rested against the top of her head as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in to exhale against her wet, coconut scented hair.

"How are you feeling?" he asked after a few long, silent moments, pulling back to look down at her when he felt her lift her head. She blinked a few times up at him, her eyes still red from her tears.

"Why did you _poison _me?" she asked in return, giving him an answer; she was obviously feeling well enough to remember what had happened before she woke up in a nightmare. Joker laughed, wiping water out of his eyes as it washed some of the excess greasepaint from his hairline.

"I didn't _poison_ you, darling, I brushed the inside of your coffee cup with LSD." He explained as though it were a simple misunderstanding but the expression on Jayde's rapidly sobering face forced another grin onto his scars.

"You _what?" _she asked, her voice now almost back to its normal level although it still rasped slightly. A moment later, her face crumpled in more tears from the powerful drug still floating around in her system. "I thought I make you happy…" she whimpered incoherently, moving away from him by a few inches as he did not even bother to hide his laughter. He shook his head, leaning over to pull her up close to him again.

"You _do_, sweetie, you do, honest." He answered, pulling her all the way into his lap so she could sit between his legs as he sat indian style and her head rested against his shoulder as the warm water rained down on them, steaming the inside of the shower gradually. "I just needed your help to get my message out for Monday." He went on to explain. Jayde seemed to be fitting things together again.

"So why didn't you warn me you were going to do that?" she asked, her voice cracking as she looked up at him, watching the water dripping from the ends of his hair closely. "I could have just pretended…" her voice now sounded somewhat distant as her eyes shifted to stare off at the tile on the shower wall. Joker was shaking his head.

"It wouldn't have been real enough…" he explained, looking down so he could catch her eyes and stare right into them, hoping she would understand. "I had to _drug_ you to make you _scared_ of me…You obviously don't realize what a uh…_big deal_ that is…" Joker watched Jayde's gaze travel across his face, taking in everything about him as if she hadn't seen him in years, lingering for a moment or two longer on the deep scar on his bottom lip. She took a short, quick breath in before her eyes snapped back up to his.

"You really scared me," she admitted quickly, her voice quiet as though people were standing just outside the shower, listening. Joker sighed, leaning his head back against the tile behind him as he glanced back and forth between her eyes, wondering if his elaborate plan hadn't been such a great idea after all. Maybe she would come to appreciate it more in a couple of days. His thumb moved across the narrow scar on her left cheek as his eyes followed the movement, before he looked back up to find her watching him.

"I'm sorry," he stated flatly, his gaze now bouncing all over her face as he tried to pick up a sign of any sort of emotion, good or bad. It could have been the drug, or it could have been the fact that he had just apologized to her without prompting, but Jayde did not react either way and simply stared at his dark amber brown eyes as if waiting for him to go on. Awkwardness and anxiety began to crawl its way along his skin as he waited, but after several long seconds he leaned down slightly, kissing her lightly, one time on the lips before he pulled back, smirking. "Can you ever forgive me?" he finally asked somewhat hopefully, again watching her expression.

At first, from the tiny wrinkle her eyebrows developed between them when she frowned, Joker thought that she might be sober enough to finally cuss him out and get out of the shower and he was just bracing for this when her hurt expression dissolved. Her nose wrinkled adorably as she melted into more drug-induced, emotional tears. "Just don't do that again, ok?" she asked in a whimper, her arm moving to wrap around him and hold tight, her forehead rested against the curve of his neck. Joker hmm-ed in content, squeezing her gently in return.

"I wont, I promise."

By the time he had double checked that Jayde felt sober enough to get out of the shower, almost the entire bathroom was full of steam, the huge mirror nearly completely fogged. Both of them were completely soaked to the bone but Joker waited in Jayde's room for her to change into dry pajamas and climb into the bed before he left to go change his own clothes, assuring her as he left that he would come back.

Out on the landing, after closing her door behind him, Joker spotted Tre and Dotcom outside on the patio so he walked over to the stairs and down them, crossing the house to the sliding glass door. Both guys looked up only to frown and glance over his dripping, 'wet rat'-like appearance. His eyebrows raised as he went to speak but then relaxed when Dotcom cut across him.

"Is she ok?" he asked concernedly, turning more fully to face the Joker as he sighed somewhat irritably.

"_Yes, _she's fine," he answered, rolling his eyes before he looked to Tre. "We gotta go meet with James and give him that tape." He informed before looking back to Dotcom. "She'll probably sleep for a while but keep an eye on her while we're gone. We shouldn't be long." With this, he turned to walk away and go change out of his freezing cold clothes as he had started to shiver slightly in the air conditioning, but Dotcom's voice stopped him.

"Don't you wanna watch it before you put it out?" he asked in reference to the tape. Joker paused mid-step, turning slowly as he honestly thought about it. Watching Jayde cry and panic had had something of a surprisingly adverse affect on him and if he were being completely honest, he didn't really _want _to watch the tape again…He had a feeling these two guys felt the same way. He shrugged, playing it off.

"No, I'm _sure_ it's fine," he answered, turning to walk away again. "She was the _perfect _little actress..."

It had taken a while, but eventually Jayde fell asleep, after tossing and turning in her bed, first deciding the light was too bright, then deciding she didn't want to be in the dark. Finally, she had shut the blinds completely in the room, forcing herself to lay there with her eyes closed, repeating to herself that it had more or less just been a really bad dream…Then again, she had never experienced a nightmare that truly made her feel like she was about to die. Joker had been terrifying to say the least, more so than she had ever seen before and just the vague, foggy memory of how his distorted voice had sounded was enough to make her shiver.

However, when Jayde woke to a hand on her shoulder, her eyes fluttered open as she took a deep breath in through her nose. Hardly daring to believe that Joker had really come back and was now sitting behind her on the edge of her bed, she remained still for a few moments, surprised to find that she was feeling noticeably better than she had when she fell asleep…Then, the person behind her cleared his throat…Her eyes closed again when Dotcom's voice broke the hospital room-type silence.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly and at first, Jayde felt a little angry and like she wanted to tell him to leave her alone, but it was not his fault that Joker had drugged her then didn't bother to come back into her room. So she took a deep breath, rolling onto her back, remembering that he was a sweet guy and was being nice.

"Better," she answered once she had yawned and sat up. She glanced at Dotcom before her eyes fell back down to the fluffy white blankets over her lap. "I'm betting he's not here, huh…" Her question came out sounding a little more pathetic than she had predicted so she picked her head up, raising her eyebrows as Dotcom sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm not surprised," she then growled somewhat bitterly as she rolled to the side to get out of bed. "Just figures he would put me through that then _leave…"_ she scoffed, rolling her eyes at her reflection in the mirror at her dresser. Behind her on the bed, Dotcom sat up, shrugging.

"He asked me to look after you while he was gone if that's any-…" he began to say but Jayde cut across him, shaking her head as she changed from her pajama pants to clean jeans.

"It's not that he left that's the issue," she started to correct herself, turning to face Dotcom with both hands on her hips. "It's that he painted the inside of my coffee mug with _LSD _so he could make a 'message'. _That's _what I'm pissed about." She finally finished, fuming, as surprisingly, Dotcom smiled, standing up to walk over and wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"I know, sweetie. I was mad at him too, trust me," he said bracingly as he walked her over to the stairs to go down. "But it's not often he does things without having more than one motive behind it. I'm sure it will make more sense in time." Jayde glanced over at Dotcom with an eyebrow arched as it became a bit clear that he knew more than he was letting on, but it seemed he was trying hard not to notice her looking at him so she sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Alright, but I'm still mad at him," she restated, nodding determinedly at Dotcom as he agreed, leading her out onto the back patio.

"And you should be. He deserves it."

At first, upon Dotcom offering her one, Jayde wasn't really sure if she wanted to smoke a cigarette, after all the drugs that had been in her system earlier. But she really did think it would help her relax a bit and she couldn't imagine what sort of adverse affect it would have, especially if she had been asleep a good portion of the day. So she took it from him and lit it, a little surprised to notice now that the sun had already gone down, leaving the field and trees behind the house dark and shadowed, alive with chirping crickets.

Luckily, the cigarette was doing exactly what she was hoping it would and was calming her nerves gradually. Although, half-way through it, when Jayde felt like she was marginally less mad than she had been, the sound of crunching gravel on the other side of the house floated back to her on the patio, beneath the sound of the crickets and suddenly, her blood pressure was rising steadily again. Dotcom had looked over at her as if waiting for a reaction but Jayde ignored him, listening intently to the sound of the garage door rising, then shutting again a few moments later, until the sound of the door to the house opening. A second later, she dropped her cigarette in the ashtray and stood abruptly, turning to go inside with Dotcom on her heels.

"Jayde, wait," he whispered as the glass door slid open but she had already strode inside and put her hands on her hips, her face livid as Joker came around the corner of the kitchen, setting the keys to the Escalade down. Instead of his expression diminishing at the look on her face, his smirk expanded into a small grin before he glanced over at Tre…They had _just _been predicting this in the car, minutes before.

"Hello there," he greeted her casually, leaning against the counter next to him, folding his arm as if getting comfortable. "Feeling better?" At first, Jayde seemed a little thrown off by his demeanor.

"You are such an asshole, you know that?" she spat, taking a step toward him as her arms dropped. "You forced me into one of the most traumatic experiences so you can make a _video? _" her voice cracked slightly before it raised. "Are you fucking insane? I could have died!" Jayde was so angry and bristling at this point, she failed to hear the short laugh Tre gave off behind her before it evolved rapidly into a cough. Even Joker's smirk expanded again. _Not really, but go on, _he thought to himself, loving every second of this. She was continuing. "_Then, _you tell me you're just going to change your clothes and that you'll come back, and you LEAVE!…" At this, she tossed her arms, huffing slightly in utmost frustration. She spun when Dotcom's voice broke the ringing silence.

"He _did _come back, Jayde, you were already asleep," he supplied quietly, glancing over at the Joker, his expression unchanging as he watched Jayde stammer awkwardly.

"Well," she started, clearly trying desperately to find something else to bring up, but Joker was now moving toward her slowly. "You still should've…I thought-…" It seemed the closer he got, the less and less formulated her stammering became until he had reached her, looking straight down at her as she folded her arms indignantly. She looked up at his eyes for only a second before they fell to the collar of his shirt.

"Ya done?" he asked in a raspy voice, leaning down slightly. Jayde blinked, snapping out of it.

"NO," she answered loudly. "Why the _fuck _would you think it was ok to-…"

At this, Joker silenced Jayde by closing the distance between them to kiss her firmly, his hands finding places on either side of her neck, ignoring the other two people in the room completely. He felt her stiffen at first as though she were about to shove him away from her and Joker was about to sincerely hope she wouldn't do that in front of Tre when she relaxed in his hands, tilting her head back slightly to return the kiss and respond to him gently. Only a few moments later, he pulled away, opening his eyes to stare at hers as she looked up at him, blinking rather dazedly.

"Stop it," he instructed firmly, his voice quiet as his gaze bounced back and forth between her eyes. A second later, a noise from the door pulled their attention from each other to where Dotcom was standing, his hands linked together under his chin, his eyes glazed over and wistful as though watching a romantic movie scene. He jumped when Joker barked 'Ay!' and Jayde blushed, turning away to go sit on the couch, trying hard to avoid Tre's grin as she passed him. With her back to the room and pretending to have her attention on the tv, Jayde listened as Joker announced loudly and sarcastically to 'everyone' that he was going to shower and that he was coming _right back_ and she smirked, rolling her eyes at herself.

Who was she kidding…She could never stay mad at him.

REVIEW IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! WE'RE COMING DOWN THE HOME STRETCH! GET READY FOR THAT CONTEST TOO, KIDDIES. LEAVE ME SOME LOVIN! -QoM


	31. Contest Rules and Info!

I Am hOlDinG tHe NeW ChaPteR FoR rAnSoM.

In the mean time, I figured I would I fill everyone in on that contest I've mentioned. Since I am going to be ending this story (SOON) with two different versions, I (along with an idea from a reader) had an idea to hold a little contest to see how you guys react. I think it might be fun, if you all aren't too lazy to participate. = ] SO, the two endings will be put out together. Once you have read them, if you would like to participate, I would like for you to choose one of the two endings, use my characters and story line and write a prologue for a third part to the Joker and Jayde series. _I have not decided whether or not I will write a third part yet_…HOWEVER, if the feedback and participation in the contest is strong and I get a good amount of entries, the winner of the contest will have their prologue be the first chapter of the third story…thus deciding the fate of the third part since the two endings will be vastly opposite. Here are the requirements:

Choose one of the two endings, either one, it doesn't matter. Using my characters and story line, write the 'next-day scene' or the prologue to the next story. It can be whatever or wherever, but must coincide with the previous story line. A minimum of three pages, no max and _please_ check your spelling. = ] When you've finished and proof read, email it to me at queenofmean389 gmail. Com for it to be judged by myself and my beta reader. Once the two endings have been posted, I'll set the deadline (yes, there will be one) Then once I've read everything and 'judged', I'll announce thah winnah! Along with having your entry posted as the first chapter to the third part, you will win my forever love, affection and respect…I may even send a copy of the new chapter to the winner before I post each time…

So in short, it is up to you all to speak up (by email or review) if you would like for this sequel to become a trilogy. Honestly, the Sweetest Vice got a wonderful amount of feedback from a vast variety of people and I would love to continue the story of my characters, but I do not want to waste my time, which I'm sure a great deal of you understand. So I want ALLLLL of the people that left a review on Sweetest Vice to leave me your love (or hate) IF YOU REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER! ( and cant wait for the contest!…I know I can't!)

Thanks to everyone for reading these stories!…Who's hoping for a third? = ] = ] = ] = ]

-Queen of Mean


	32. RockStar

Long after Jayde had disappeared into his room to go to bed, the Joker sat at his desk at the far end of his office, leaned back in his comfortable, rolling chair, his chin rested on his knuckles as he stared at the computer screen. It was fortunate that Jayde had gotten comfortable enough to go lay down in his room without him as Joker was slightly anxious to watch the video he had taken of her while she had been having a really bad trip; he was positive she would not want to see it. The original video had been aired on the six and ten o'clock news, but he had seen to it that Jayde had no idea she was already being featured on TV as his 'helpless victim' and had forbidden Tre or Dotcom to tell her. So after searching for only a few minutes, Joker found a copy of the video on the Gotham News 9 website and moved the pointer of the mouse over it, preparing to click. His finger hesitated, however, as he stared at the small thumbnail of Jayde's panicked, weary and yet terrified face, wondering, once again, if he really wanted to watch it. But on second thought, it angered him to think that he had actually let his feelings progress to the point where hurting and scaring her weren't really all that fun to him anymore. So he took a short, determined breath in through his nose before he clicked on the picture, reaching forward to turn up the sound on his speakers so he could hear. A moment later, his stomach gave an unpleasant, unexpected lurch when Jayde's picture began moving, those familiar tears sliding down her cheeks in faint gray trails. The first thing out of her mouth:

"_No! Please don't kill me…"_

Joker huffed at this, rolling his eyes as he shifted slightly in his chair, watching intently as he noticed Jayde in the video resisting against him as he pulled on her wrist out of frame, trying to keep her close to the camera. This was all familiar to him as it had only happened earlier that same day, but something in the way Dotcom's lights shone on her horrified, petrified face made watching it second-hand a little more intense. His voice sounded gravely and admittedly scary through the speakers on his computer and Joker couldn't help but grin rather proudly; no _wonder _people were so scared of him.

_"Do you know who I am?" _

Joker heard himself ask Jayde this and watched as her eyes widened slightly as she stared up at his eyes instead of into the lens of the camera. Even on the video, the blue color there was overwhelming.

"_Joker." _She had answered in something of a croak, causing his stomach to churn uncomfortably again. He fought through it, continuing to watch as video-Jayde trembled uncontrollably, so forcefully, even the loose bits of her hair around her face shook. Then, as he watched, Joker noticed that even the _camera _was shaking slightly…Had his hands been trembling and he hadn't noticed? It was obvious, from the way the camera only stilled when he shifted it from one hand to the other, that he had indeed been shaking a bit but upon thinking back, he could not remember noticing it. Perhaps it had been that usual, primal energy that flowed through him when his mind went into 'kill-mode', maybe it had truly been the fact that he couldn't stand to watch Jayde hurting and scared anymore. The latter of the two ideas seemed a bit ridiculous as the thought of hurting Jayde usually made him fairly excited, even though he subdued it greatly, _most _of the time. Either way, he felt he had seen enough and was done watching the video, slightly annoyed with himself now as he let out an audible sigh, leaning forward on the desk to rest his face in his hands, closing his eyes behind them.

It was mildly surprising to him how easy it had been to smooth over Jayde's angry, hurt attitude earlier upon returning to the house and how it had really only taken one solid kiss in front of their roommates for her to sigh and smile up at him as though he had done no wrong. But now, as Joker sat there, staring at the inside of his hands over his eyes, he realized that forcing her into a bad trip had been somewhat mild compared to things he had done in the past involving Jayde, things he had done to hurt her. He supposed there was much worse he could have done…Perhaps Jayde had understood this as well. Rising from his desk chair, Joker turned off the monitor but did not bother with the rest of the computer, figuring as he left the room that if he was unable to fall asleep within an hour, he would come back and bore himself for a while.

Surprisingly, the rest of the house was dark, indicating that Dotcom and Tre had seemingly both turned in for the night so Joker continued down the hall to his bedroom, wondering if Jayde would still be awake. Part of him hoped she was, but a greater part of him hoped she was already asleep and breathing deeply. As quietly as he could, upon arriving at the door, he reached out, wrapping his fingers around the handle to turn it slowly and silently to the right, pushing it open to slip inside and shut it behind him.

The room was almost completely pitch dark, save for the glow from his tv that apparently Jayde had turned on before she fell asleep. It cast flickering, changing shadows across the room onto his bed where he could see the curvy outline of Jayde's side as it rose and fell gently as she slept with her back to the room. Joker sighed in relief as he stepped silently into the room, tugging on the loosened knot of his tie until it came undone and he could drop it carelessly onto the floor somewhere, followed closely by his vest. His shirt was next and after undoing the buttons, he tossed it behind him as he stepped into his dark bathroom, making sure to close the door behind him before turning on the light, hoping to keep Jayde asleep while he washed his face and brushed his teeth.

Several minutes later, feeling like he'd shed a layer of skin from his face from the acidic, abrasive yet powerful soap he used to remove the greasepaint, and after he felt his mouth was clean and cool enough to freeze water, Joker stepped back into his bedroom, stepping out of his pants to leave them in a heap on the floor next to his bed. He then stood there, staring at the back of Jayde, at her curved side where his purple sheets ended, exposing several inches of her skin where the bottom of her shirt had risen. Either he could do this _very _slowly and lay down without disturbing her or he could do it quickly and smoothly and waste no further time. A second later, a large, sleepy yawn split his face, making his decision for him.

Of course, the moment he lay down, Jayde took a deep breath in before she whimpered sleepily, turning slightly to blink rather dazedly over her shoulder at him. Honestly, Joker was a _little _glad she had woken, giving him a perfect opportunity to scoot close enough so her warm body fell into the curve of his like a puzzle piece. His arm had just snaked around her waist when she smiled in content, sliding her hand along his forearm.

"Hey," she murmured, her voice higher pitched than normal, quiet and a little hoarse from her previous, unconscious state. Joker closed his eyes as his lips, nose and chin rested against the back of her shoulder.

"Shh, go back to sleep," he instructed quietly, grateful when she chose obey him and as she relaxed into his bed again, he pursed his lips to leave one goodnight kiss against her skin.

When Jayde rolled over to find herself alone in the bed, she exhaled sleepily but was a little surprised to notice that she wasn't really irritated by the Joker's absence. It seemed she had almost gotten used to his somewhat regular routine of waking up earlier than she could ever want to and she honestly didn't really mind anymore. If he wasn't blowing air horns or rocking the bed, or biting her then Jayde was perfectly content to let him do his own thing in the mornings. And chances were, he was probably doing something fairly entertaining and random when she eventually found him. So after wasting no further time, Jayde slid to the edge of his bed to leave the room and go find out what was supposed to be happening that day.

Out on the landing, judging by the painfully bright sunlight, Jayde figured it was around ten 'clock and she was just squinting her way to the stairs when she heard a muffled, somewhat familiar female voice. Forcing her eyes open, she glanced around at the bottom floor, first spotting Dotcom on the phone in the kitchen before her search finally found a short, rather squat woman out on the patio, standing with her back to the glass door. Jayde frowned as she descended the stairs, noticing Tre as well now, just a moment before she gasped. Who she now recognized as Maggie, moved to the side, revealing a pair of shiny silver shears and a comb clutched in one hand while the other flicked through the Joker's hair. She walked over quickly, passing Dotcom as her eyes fell to a small pool of fallen green hair on the patio floor.

Completely ignoring the fact that she was still in her pajamas, Jayde stepped out onto the porch after sliding the glass open, smiling as Maggie turned to look, her magenta colored eyebrows raising from behind her glasses. She gasped a little, pausing for one moment to glance behind her at the back of Joker's half-cut head in obvious surprise before she turned back to Jayde, throwing an arm out.

"_Hiiii, _honey, how _ah _you?" she asked in her friendly, New York accent, leaning forward for one of those 'barely there' lady hugs.

"I'm good, thanks…" she answered politely, but distractedly, taking another few steps forward to see the front-half of the Joker, sitting there comfortably with most of his hair combed into his face, looking a little like a green sheepdog. She grinned, leaning down slightly to see around his hair to his eyes which unfortunately were both closed. "Haircut?" she asked, her grin expanding when one of his eyes opened slowly.

"_Obviously?…"_ he answered in the same tone, his voice deep but still laced with that hint of clowniness. Jayde rolled her eyes as she stood up, walking over to sit in the chair next to Tre, joining him as he watched, somewhat mesmerized as Maggie snipped through Joker's hair with ease. After a few seconds, she blinked.

"Why though?" she asked, looking to Joker when he crossed his arms over his stomach, slouched slightly in the chair to be more at his hair dresser's level.

"'Cause I gotta stay lookin' like a rock star, right, Maggie-may?" he asked, smirking with a nod of his head when she answered distractedly, "Right, baby."

As incredibly interesting as it seemed to stick around and watch Maggie cut his hair, Jayde remembered eventually that she was still wearing her pajamas so she left the patio, hoping secretly to herself that his hair would still be somewhat long when she was done. She had _really _grown to enjoy pulling on it. Dotcom was unsurprisingly still in the kitchen but even less shockingly, still on the phone, so Jayde simply smiled at him with a nod of her head as she stopped by for a cup of coffee before she went upstairs.

After a quick shower, after brushing her teeth and after rifling through her clothes, Jayde had decided on a small, older t-shirt that just barely came to the line of her jeans and was just stepping out onto the landing to walk to the stairs when she noticed Joker just leaning forward in the chair as Maggie stepped back. An unavoidable grin jumped to her face when he stood up, shaking his head back and forth vigorously to shake any loose hair out before he combed his fingers into it, clearly enjoying how different it felt. Finally, as she stepped off of the bottom step, Jayde could see more clearly and she grinned hard when she noticed it was still long enough to just reach the bottom of his neck . It seemed messier than usual yet composed, his waves sticking out more severely from where Maggie had more than likely snuck a few layers in there without him knowing. He was just scowling at his reflection in the sliding glass door when his eyes shifted to Jayde through the glass as she walked up, eyeing his hair. She paused on the threshold of the door once she had slid it open a bit, cocking her head to the side slightly as Joker bounced his eyebrows, holding out his hands.

"Eh? Rock star?" he asked, grinning widely at her until she eventually nodded.

"Yeah, it looks really good." She answered, glancing at Maggie who was staring up at her 'client', eyeing her work with a proud grin.

As Joker walked Maggie out and more than likely paid her, Dotcom came out onto the patio, side-stepping the green hair on the floor the best he could before he sat down across from Jayde and Tre. He offered her a cigarette which she accepted, followed shortly by the lighter and she was just exhaling when Joker returned, opening the glass door only wide enough for him to lean out slightly.

"I'm covered in hair so I'm gonna shower. But Dotcom if you can get me the blue prints for tonight and…" he paused, his eyes falling to the pile of green hair at the base of the chair. "-if one of you guys could just…ya know…" he scrunched his nose jokingly, motioning from the green hair to the patio door. When both Jayde and Tre continued to glare at him blankly, he laughed once. "_Terr-ific._" He then added as he walked away, like they had readily agreed to sweep his hair up.

During the twenty minutes that it took for Joker to shower and apparently change his clothes, Jayde eventually got up and found a broom but was just leaving the laundry room when she spotted him coming down the stairs, looking clean and smelling great. He looked up from the black notebook in his hand, smirking when he glanced from her face to the broom, his grin expanding when she walked with him over to the glass door, only to hold out the broom to him firmly. For several seconds, Joker stared down at Jayde and Jayde up at him, their eyes narrowed…Jayde sincerely hoped that through her gaze, he understood full well that just because they were 'together' now, did not mean that she was to suddenly become his maid. Joker seemed to catch on, although somewhat reluctantly, and reached out a second later, pulling the broom out of her grip with a scowl before they both stepped outside. Jayde sat and watched him start to sweep, proud of herself.

"Alright, fellas," he addressed Dotcom and Tre, sweeping the hair toward the patio door with long, brisk movements. "James and Icon are meeting us at ten-thirty, yes?" he asked, finally pushing all of the hair outside before he returned to the table, sitting down at the last chair available. Tre and Dotcom said yes so he continued, glancing at Jayde. "_You _are going to be leaving ten minutes after us in the Escalade and meeting us out at the power plant." he instructed her now, pointing one finger at her along the table. When she did not immediately react and instead stared somewhat blankly at him, Joker's shoulders hunched slightly as he squinted. "_Know where it is?" _he asked as though speaking to a child and although this normally really aggravated Jayde, she honestly _didn't _know where it was. She shrugged.

"_Noo?" _she answered bravely in the exact same tone he had used, glaring at him somewhat playfully as he sighed exasperatedly, glancing across the table at Tre and Dotcom.

"I already put it in the GPS in the Cadillac, so just…follow that." He explained, turning back to face the other two. "Once we get the perimeter wired, we head out, then we go _lights _out at midnight." As Dotcom and Tre agreed, even though this had to have been the fifth time they'd heard this, Jayde was starting to catch on and turned to look at Joker.

"Is it going to cut our power out too?" she asked in reference to the house although the moment the words left her mouth, she felt a stab of regret for interrupting when it was already so rare that he let her in on his plans. Surprisingly, he merely shook his head and continued without further explanation, which was enough of an answer for Jayde. Cold showers were no fun at all.

After nearly an hour of discussing the evening and after Joker had obliged her with a miniature 'Q&A' session, Jayde was following the three guys inside, wondering what she ought to do that afternoon. It was obvious they would more than likely be up fairly late that evening but she wasn't sure if she was feeling tired enough for a nap. But then again, there was not a lot for her to do and it was more than probable that Joker would be spending a good amount of time in his office. At the moment, he was heading out into the garage with Tre, saying something about 'boxes' so Jayde went her way to the stairs, figuring she could just watch a movie for the time being.

The following few hours passed by at an extraordinarily slow crawl as Joker and Tre came in and out of the house continually, their voices growing louder as they walked in then quieting again just before the garage door would shut again. Dotcom seemed to be busy or was of the same mind as Jayde and was napping in his room. Eventually, she had fallen asleep at around five after it became to difficult to keep her eyes open. She had slipped off into a comfortable, cozy nap without much problem but now, seemingly five minutes later, a weight landed on the bed next to her heavily, bouncing the mattress. Her eyes popped open as she gasped quietly, blinking several times until the vague features of the Joker came into focus. She exhaled with a soft groan as he grinned.

"Hi," she murmured, turning onto her back, frowning when she noticed the room was dark. "What time is it?" she asked a moment later, turning just her head to look over at him.

"Just after nine," he answered, sitting up abruptly as Jayde moved to rest her hand on his arm. "I figured I would come wake you up so you had time to get ya wits about ya before we left." With this, he grinned over his shoulder before he left the room, leaving Jayde sitting on the bed feeling slightly dejected. In all fairness, she understood that this was a big deal but honestly, she wished he would stop moving for three seconds, or at least long enough for her to sneak in and kiss him once. She was _not _about to waste energy worrying about it, however, so she stood up and proceeded to find her freshly laundered camouflage pants and a plain black v-neck t-shirt. Her boots had been left in the Escalade from the other night so after pulling on some socks and making sure her hair did not look horrid, Jayde stepped out onto the landing, only to stop where she stood, her jaw hanging slack.

Downstairs, at the table stood Tre, in his camouflage and black outfit, his boots as shiny as the floor beneath them, but next to him, stood the Joker, wearing the exact same thing. Jayde felt herself drooling a little when she noticed the way the camouflage pants fit him low around his hips, held there in place by a black leather belt. The boots made him look a bit taller than usual and Jayde was about to try and snap herself out of this trance when he turned, scowling up at the second landing.

"Care to join us?" he asked, nodding at the table with his head, but hesitated to watch her over his shoulder as she trotted down the stairs toward them, grinning at him when the tip of her tongue snuck out to just lightly touch the scarred corner of her mouth. Joker's eyes narrowed with a new smirk but Jayde had already reached them and was sitting down to look over the blue prints he had spread out on the table. They made absolutely no sense whatsoever to her, but she looked anyway, hoping to seem like she understood.

"So we'll need a case here," he reached out with a permanent marker, marking an 'X' over what appeared to be a corner of the building before he went on. "-here, here and here. Then we'll leave one in the van next to it just for good measure. James and Icon say they have the stuff, we just need to bring the cable and fuses," he was telling Tre, completely ignoring Jayde at this point. "Dotcom is driving the truck and she has the Escalade." He paused, pointing with his thumb at Jayde. "And she and I are leaving at eleven-thirty so you and Dotcom will have to bring the truck back. If everything goes according to plan, we should be back here by one, smoking a fat one to celebrate, ya feel me?" At this, Tre clapped his hands once, standing up straight from leaned over the table.

"Ready?…Break!" he said enthusiastically as though they had just separated from a huddle, leaving Joker to glare at him, his expression blank with annoyance. Tre laughed to himself as he walked away to the garage door, stepping out and beyond it a few moments later. Joker rolled his eyes as Jayde came around his side, sliding onto the table in front of him and the tips of her fingers tucked behind his belt and into the lining of his pants, swinging her legs a bit as they dangled from the table.

"You look really sexy," she admitted without hesitation, smirking up at him as his scowl relaxed slightly and his hands came to rest on either side of her.

"Ya think so?" he asked, arching one eyebrow, stretching one of the black rings around his eyes while the other tightened. Jayde nodded, staring up at him, loving the way his new haircut left a few shorter pieces of his green hair to fall into his face and jaw a bit. He grunted a laugh, leaning down slightly as his eyes fell to the ground before he brought them back up, eyeing her slightly parted lips. Jayde felt her stomach turn over as he leaned in a bit more and she closed her eyes in preparation for that wonderful first kiss of the day, only for Joker's quiet, raspy voice to break the silence. "Uh…Where are those _boots _I got you?" he asked after he had apparently noticed her socked feet, his lips mere inches from hers as Jayde's eyes slid open to meet his.

"In the car," she practically whispered, leaning in slightly to try and catch him before he stood up straight. But Joker caught on and pulled back a few inches, the top corner of his lip raising slightly in a toothy smirk as he eyed her lips teasingly.

"Then you should probably _go. get. them._"

After scooting from the kitchen and out into the garage, Jayde walked over to the Escalade, noticing Tre in the driver's seat of his massive truck, smoking a cigarette while he waited for the Joker. She glanced over, part of her wanting to ask him if she could have one of his smokes but then again, Joker had seemed in a hurry so she continued with unlocking the SUV to climb into a middle seat and reach for her boots. They were exactly where she had left them previously, sitting on the floor in the very back where she and Joker had had their latest sexual encounter. As she leaned out to slide her feet in and begin tightening the laces, the sound of the garage door swinging open caught her attention and she looked up as Joker walked over, holding something in his hand. He held it out to her once he had made it over.

"Press the start button when we leave," he explained, watching Jayde's face as she looked down at the stopwatch he had just handed to her. "It's already set for ten minutes so when it goes off, leave and follow the GPS to the power plant, understand?" By the time she had agreed, Joker was already walking away toward the truck, leaving Jayde to stare after him blankly, watching the way he still limped ever so slightly from the slowly healing wound in his leg. And before she could even think to ask anything, like how she was supposed to reach him if something happened, the truck was pulling out of the garage and Jayde had just remembered her phone, sitting upstairs on her nightstand.

Once she had been inside and returned to climb into the driver's seat with her phone and the Escalade keys, the stopwatch was sliding closer to all zeros so she started the SUV, wondering vaguely to herself when her _man _planned on showing her some affection that day. She had seen him briefly, for only a few minutes at a time all day, and although she had sworn to herself she would not smother him, Jayde was feeling a rejected. Then again, she had never expected for the Joker to even _consider_ letting her into his life as anything more than a victim so _any _time she had around him felt almost like some sort of gift. She could have easily been long since dead by then and counted her blessings that Joker even _pretended _to like her. She would just have to catch him off-guard later…Finally, the stopwatch had run out so Jayde pulled the massive, heavy Cadillac from the garage, pausing to close the door behind her before the rocks of the driveway began crunching beneath the reinforced tires.

Luckily, it appeared _someone_, presumably Dotcom, had seemingly put the GPS instructions on 'easy' so finding the power plant did not turn out to be as daunting as she had assumed. Although the further and further Jayde grew from the city, the more a small feeling of apprehension began to work itself up in the pit of her stomach, reminding her that this was the first time she had left the house alone as a part of one of Joker's schemes since her status had been changed from 'victim' to 'accomplice'. Fortunately, the power plant seemed to be on the very outskirts of the city in an industrial area of the landscape. This was closer to the house than the actual city of Gotham which left the large building, towers and wires to stand almost completely alone in a rural area, bordered by the interstate on one side, trees and fields on the other. Off the freeway, there were no streetlights and hardly any cars so Jayde felt a little of that tension in her stomach start to fade away. Of course, her phone began ringing loudly, causing her to jump with a gasp.

"Make a left at the next gate entrance," came a raspy, somewhat quiet voice on the other end. Jayde leaned forward, staring through the windshield into the dark night for any possible places from which Joker could have been watching.

"Where are you?" she asked, her eyes spotting the second entrance to the huge gravel yard outside of the power plant. The wheels of the Escalade had already started to turn to the left when he let out a rather annoyed sigh.

"I'm _inside," _he answered; Jayde could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "Dotcom is outside about to-…"

"Open the gate, yeah." She cut across him, pressing her thumb to the red button when she barely noticed Dotcom pulling open a long, horizontal gate on a track stuck between the gravel. The Escalade pulled into the yard and the gate slid shut again promptly behind it before Dotcom walked across to padlock the fence again. Jayde was just climbing out when he trotted up, looking a bit winded.

"They're all inside," he explained, nodding his head at the enormous building behind them, roaring with the sound of giant turbines. Looking over toward the docking bay at the very back of the building, Jayde noticed a beaten up, somewhat familiar-looking white van with no windows…She would have stopped to ask but Dotcom was already leading her over toward a set of metal stairs, which led them up and into one of the biggest rooms Jayde had ever entered in her life. Her eyes grew wide to take in the vast sight just before she jumped when someone shouted her name, their voice echoing and magnified seemingly a hundred times. The Joker was standing on the very opposite side of the huge room, his arms held out to either side and the most ridiculous, excited grin on his face.

"DOESN'T MY VOICE SOUND AWESOME IN HERE?" he shouted playfully, his words nearly indeterminable from the deep echo. Jayde giggled, glancing at Dotcom as he allowed himself a quick eye-roll before he went over to one of the corners where Jayde now noticed two strangers crouched down, looking at something. Fortunately, the Joker and Tre were now walking toward her, and Jayde couldn't stop herself from noting just then how sexy they looked together, both wearing camo and boots…_Lemme stop…_she thought vaguely, blinking a few times as they walked up. Before Joker could make a comment, Jayde glanced around, her eyebrows arched.

"So you're blowing this place up?" she asked, those eyebrows arching further when Joker snorted a laugh, nudging Tre with his elbow.

"I tell ya, it's so _cute _when she asks stupid questions…"he murmured to him, rolling his eyes before he looked down to Jayde, raising his eyebrows. "_Yes, _I _am._" He answered enthusiastically, once again taking that irritating, child-like tone with her. Jayde's hands met her hips.

"Don't be a dick, I'm just asking…" she growled at him dangerously, keeping her voice low to prevent anyone else from hearing her speak to her 'boss' that way. The black makeup around his eyes began to tighten in his scowl so she carried on, hoping to smooth it over. "So what can I do?" she asked, glancing around. It seemed to be her lucky day when Joker frowned, looking at the distant four corners.

"Uh…" he hesitated, finally glancing at Tre before he shrugged with a small toss of his hands. "Just stand here with me and look cute in your little boots," he eventually instructed, taking a step forward to wrap his arm around her shoulders before he promptly raised his voice. "I CAN'T _WAIT _TO _FUCK _YOU LATER!" he practically shouted, his words echoing and bouncing all over the building, just moments before a loud, evil-genius type, 'muahaha' laugh came bubbling out of him. With a gasp, Jayde pushed him away from her, walking to Dotcom while he and Tre laughed.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Jayde, Dotcom and the two strangers, who she had gathered to be 'James' and 'Icon', were standing near the doors of the huge room faking a friendly conversation when she noticed Tre and Joker murmuring between themselves, their voices barely noticeable. Tre glanced over at the back of the two men before he looked back to Joker and muttered something. Joker shook his head with a frown but Jayde was looking back to 'James' as he looked down at his watch.

"Should be about time to get out of here, huh," he commented, glancing at the man next to him as he agreed. Just over his shoulder, Jayde noticed Joker start to approach from behind, his footsteps deliberately quiet, his head lowered and his eyes narrowed. Her stomach lurched like she had missed a step going downstairs when she recognized that stance as the one he used when sneaking up on prey and she swallowed hard, forcing her attention back to James. It seemed Dotcom had caught on as well.

"So where did you guys say you came from? Roswell?" he asked but took a step back as several things happened at the same time: Jayde gasped, Joker and Tre had both closed in, grabbed the two men on either side of the head and in sync, cracked their necks simultaneously with a sickening crunch that echoed slightly in the room. Jayde felt her stomach lurch again when the two men fell to the floor, their faces frozen in mid-surprise. Seeing Joker kill was nothing really new to her, but up until that point, Jayde had never seen Tre actually kill someone and unsurprisingly, he was seemingly just as 'gifted' as his best friend. Joker let out a sigh as he stepped over the body of James nonchalantly.

"Alright, ladies, let's get outta here." he instructed over his shoulder, continuing on his way to the huge docking station as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. Jayde swallowed hard on the lump in her throat as she walked with her 'roommates', back out into the yard of small rocks, wondering what they were supposed to do now. Luckily, Joker stopped near the Escalade, holding out his hand to her expectantly for the keys while he looked to Tre and Dotcom.

"You guys head up to that outlook and keep an eye on this place until midnight. She and I are going to Mahaffey Theater to catch a show." He explained plainly, and Jayde was just about to ask '_what?' _when he laughed heartily at his own joke. "No, I'm just kidding," he then added as though Dotcom and Tre had actually believed him. "Let's plan to get back to the house by one. Ready? Aaaaand…break!" At his last word, Joker whipped his hand out, smacking Tre on the cheek as punishment for his stupid joke earlier but wheezed with laughter as he bounced away to the driver's side of the Escalade, leaving Tre to stand there glaring murderously after him.

Jayde grinned to herself as she slid into the seat next to Joker, wondering what on earth was putting him in such a ridiculous mood. She wasn't complaining, however; it was always fun to be around him when he was like this. Jayde just sincerely hoped this happy-go-lucky attitude would last until they were back home, alone.

As Joker floored the Escalade in reverse toward the gate, Jayde turned in her seat, her jaw falling open further and further the nearer it grew until she cringed, bracing for an impact when the back end of the SUV went flying through the flimsy chain link fence and out onto the dirt street beside the plant. Joker seemed to have been accurate in his faith in the enhanced vehicle's strength but the scowl on his face remained firmly in place as he turned the wheel, stopping the car momentarily to let Tre and Dotcom go before him in the truck.

Once they had made it down the road a ways, the huge, black pick-up truck pulled off onto a smaller dirt path, leaving nothing but Joker, Jayde, the Escalade and it's headlights as they continued on. The radio was playing quietly enough for conversation but it seemed at this point, Joker had fallen into that intense, anxious-excited mood, bouncing his knee as he stared through the windshield so Jayde stayed silent; he would speak if he found something necessary to say.

The city seemed fairly quiet that evening as they drove through back streets, taking shortcuts here and there until the streetlights became scarce, flickering and yellowed with age and the night seemed to get darker the further into the city they drove. For a few momets, Jayde considered breaking that itchy silence to ask if they were in the fabled section of the city known as 'the Narrows', but from the look of things, she could probably guess pretty accurately that that's exactly where they were. She spared Joker the question.

Finally, after nearly a half hour, Jayde felt her stomach give another uncomfortable lurch when the truck began to slow and pull off to the right, alongside a particularly dark strip of avenue, lined with run-down, abandoned businesses. Turning her head as Joker shut off the car, Jayde noticed the façade of a old, vacant theater, it's brick face cracked in places and overrun by dead ivy. _How romantic…_she thought rather sourly but turned her head again quickly when she heard the unmistakable noise of a gun being loaded. Her eyes dropped immediately to the semi-automatic handgun in Joker's gloved hand as he put the safety on but he seemed to notice her watching and paused, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Can never be too careful!" he chimed, holding up a finger as he tucked the gun into the black leather, double gun strap that crossed on his back and rested on either side of his ribs. Jayde glanced across at his other side when a flash of silver caught her attention; seems one could never be _two _careful. With a soft 'tsk', she shook her head slowly, eyeing him up and down.

"You really could not get any sexier if you tried, Joker," she commented honestly but jumped when his hand reached out swiftly to grip her jaw and pull her closer to his face forcefully. His grip slackened as his half-lidded gaze dropped to her puckery lips. Jayde braced for a Joker-style scolding.

"…I know." He growled, his tempting, thin, yet perfectly arched lips just inches from hers, thoroughly teasing her yet again before he released her face with a slight push. "Now stop drooling 'n let's go." He then instructed firmly, moving to get out of the car and Jayde couldn't help but grin to herself as she followed him.

A long, narrow alley ran along the side of the rundown building that Jayde failed to notice until she was following Joker into the mouth of it, stumbling slightly on unseen garbage on the ground. She tried not to think of what she was stepping on and although the thought of reaching out and sliding her finger into Joker's back belt loop seemed tempting, Jayde had a feeling he would turn around and smack her hand away. The quiet, squeaking sound of rats reached Jayde's ears a second later, forcing her forward a few quick steps with an uncomfortable cringe, only to bounce right into Joker's solid figure. She staggered back a step, clearing her throat quietly in slight embarrassment when she felt Joker turn his head to glare down at her in the near pitch blackness.

The rusty metal side door to the theater gave a not-so-stealthy groan as Joker pushed it open, stepping inside as silently as possible, only to push it shut again and lock it once Jayde had followed him in. She stood next to him closely, afraid to take even one step away from him as he leaned down to reach into the cargo pocket of his pants, only to produce a tiny, metal flashlight a moment later. The beam of light slid along the far wall until it stopped on a _very _unstable-looking ladder, bolted to the concrete wall at the very back of the old, sunken stage. Apparently, they were supposed to climb that…Before turning off the flashlight, Joker shined it on his watch and immediately took off toward the stage, leaving Jayde to trot after him.

The ancient wooden floors creaked and groaned beneath their boots, the noise following them across the large room to the boarded-up orchestra pit where Joker easily climbed up and onto the stage, once again leaving Jayde to trot over to the small set of stairs, wondering why he hadn't just used them instead. When she caught up, he was already at the bottom of the ladder, scowling up at the ceiling where a square metal hatch stood in their way.

"Wait here," Joker instructed, placing one foot and both hands on the straight rungs of the metal ladder, pulling himself up so he could climb to the very top where he paused, hooking his forearm around one of the bars to hold himself in place so he could reach into his pocket. That small flashlight appeared again, shining its circular beam of light on the hatch to the roof before Joker placed the end of it between his teeth while his free arm reached up to pull hard on the narrow lever. With a great groan and pop, the rusty latch released and the hatch swung open, bringing in a cool, outside breeze and revealing a square of inky black sky, dotted by only one or two stars. "Ok, c'mon." Joker called back to her, climbing up the rest of the ladder until he could pull himself up and out while Jayde followed.

Out on the roof, Joker was just taking a deep breath in, holding his arms out slightly as though hugging the whole city, when Jayde joined him, her eyes wide at the view.

"Wow…" she breathed with something that sounded an awful lot like awe as her gaze took in the sight of the whole of nighttime Gotham, the tall buildings dotted with random, lit windows, the honking of horns and wailing of sirens, still audible, even with the distance. The lights cast shadows on the Joker's face but even in the semi-darkness, Jayde could see the corners of his lips turned up in a grin as he admired the city. A moment later, he seemed to remember something in his pocket and reached down into it, producing a familiar switch. His thumb flipped open a small plastic latch, revealing a blue, blinking button and he glanced up at the city again, his thumb hovering over the button. Jayde jumped instinctually when he pushed down, changing the color of the blinking light from blue to red, but the switch made absolutely no noise…_nothing _made any noise…except for Joker, who was laughing quietly, watching the horizon to one side.

"And _God _said, 'Let there be NIGHT!'" he finally exclaimed, holding out his arms to the city as the earth shook slightly with a tremendous rumble, like the loudest thunder she had ever heard. She jumped again, taking a step closer to Joker when off to the side, in the distance, a bright ball of fire and electric sparks lit up the sky and she was almost so distracted by this that she nearly missed the _real _show. Luckily, Joker's arm wrapped around her shoulders tightly, pulling her attention back to the huge cityscape, where every light had just flickered and gone out completely, extinguishing every single light source in the city, plunging it into complete and total darkness. Joker was using Jayde to brace himself as he doubled over slightly, laughing hard at the roof they were standing on as she continued to stare in shock at the city, honestly a little blown away that Joker had pulled something of this magnitude off.

Earlier, she had said that Joker could not have gotten any sexier if he tried…She had been wrong.

Jayde had just turned to Joker as he stood up, taking a deep breath and was _just _about to throw her arms around his neck, rise onto her toes and kiss him deeply when a closer, smaller bang cracked the night air, followed quickly by the loud clank of metal on metal just feet from them. A split-second after the gunshot, Joker grabbed Jayde's arm hard enough to bruise and pulled her to the ground with him, behind the waist-height wall that formed a perimeter around the long roof of the theater. Jayde had just looked to Joker with wide, panicked eyes, when he barked an exhilarated laugh.

"Whew!" he exclaimed, just as another shot split the air. "That was _close!" _

_To be continued! _

_REVIEW OR YOU WILL BE DOOMED TO FOREVER WONDER WHO IS SHOOTING AT JOKER AND JAYDE!...seriously though, guys...Leave some reviews, don't be a bum. I want to hear from the most loyal readers! -QoM = ]_


	33. SafeHouse

"Whew! That was _close!" _

Jayde's long ponytail whipped her in the face as she turned her head awkwardly to glance around at the rest of the roof, double-checking they were alone up there. Her heart had once again begun beating against her ribcage with hammer-like strength and she turned to Joker, her eyes wide with slight panic.

"Someone's shooting at us!" she exclaimed rather stupidly, her voice quieted into a hoarse whisper. The immediacy of the situation was preventing her brain from thinking of anything more clever and helpful to say and as Joker tsk-ed, turning his head to look over at her, she swallowed hard.

"Oh, _Really?" _he asked in sarcastic surprise, but luckily he did not waste time adding more. "Let me see your phone." He then instructed, his demeanor instantly changing into business-mode as he held his hand out to her, waiting until she had produced it from her pocket before he held it out and up. As he squinted at the reflective, blank screen, tilting it slightly, Jayde realized he was trying to see behind them over the wall for some place where the shots could have come from. It seemed only once he was unsuccessful did he remember he had just shut off every single light in Gotham city. With a slight huff, he put the phone back in his own pocket before nodding over toward the square hatch through which they had come out. "Crawl along the wall until you're level with it, then _quickly _climb down inside…Got it?" he asked, nodding his head once as his eyebrows raised when Jayde simply stared up at him. How she had never thought something like this could happen, she would never _ever _know. Now was the time for Joker to be proud of her and the decision he made in letting her into his life.

"Got it." She answered firmly after a few seconds hesitation, then turned to do exactly what he had said. The rough asphalt the roof had been paved with dug into the palms of her hands and knees as she crawled along and just as he had instructed, she glanced over toward the hatch in the roof once she was level with it. It was only about three feet away but still, the thought of moving anywhere that was not under cover forced her to hesitate. She could feel Joker behind her, following her, so without giving him time to urge her on, she pushed herself up to crouch and duck over to the hatch and step down in it, moving quickly out of the way as Joker followed, the heels of his boots _almost _catching her fingers on the rungs of the ladder. The door to the hatch groaned again as he swung it shut, ducking slightly as a few more shots ricocheted off of the thick metal.

By the time Joker reached the bottom of the ladder, Jayde had already made it past the stage and was halfway to the door when he caught up, reaching with one hand to his opposite side to unsnap the strap holding one of his guns in place. Jayde felt her heart rate quicken again as he took the safety off and pulled back on the slide to arm it. He glanced down at her a second later as he unlocked the metal door leading out to the alley where they had been minutes before.

"Do you have that gun I gave you?" he asked hopefully, although from the half-cringe Jayde gave and the way her eyes widened slightly, it was obvious she did not. He sighed with an aggravated groan, handing her the gun he had just readied, only to take out the other one and repeat his actions. "'Member, Jayde, do _whatever _I tell you to do, _no_ questions. Understand me?" he asked somewhat sternly, looking down at her in the dark as she nodded adamantly. She did _not _want to screw this up; having Joker think highly of her after this was top priority…_that, _and of course, not being killed.

Once she had agreed, Joker slowly pushed the metal door open as quietly as possible, swinging it out on it's hinges until he could lean out just the slightest bit to stare back down the alley toward the Escalade and out into the street. Jayde watched the side of his calm, scowling features as he stood there for several long moments, his eyes watching like hawks for any sign of movement. He turned his head to stare down the other end of the alley to the other street before again, watching for nearly a half of a minute until he was convinced it was safe-_r _for them to step out and stand with their backs against the brick wall. It was fortunate they were both wearing dark clothes; even with all the lights out, the moon was plenty bright that night. Joker turned his head to murmur something to her.

"We're gonna walk like this to the end of the alley," he explained, his voice low and quiet. Jayde looked down between them as he pushed the Escalade keys into her hand. "When we reach the end, you're gonna run across, get in the passenger seat and turn on the car. That's it. 'Kay?" he asked, his tone still very casual as though this were some sort of extra realistic fire drill at school. When she nodded, Joker motioned with his head toward the other end of the alley. "You watch that way and follow me."

The two of them slinked along the wall of the alley, somewhat quickly, Jayde keeping at least one part of her body against Joker at all times to follow him efficiently. He stopped about three feet from the mouth of the alley, reaching behind him to pull on the back of Jayde's belt, sliding her around him until she was now in front of him. Less than ten feet from the passenger door of the Escalade. He leaned down, glancing behind him.

"Unlock it now," he instructed, his voice barely above a whisper. Jayde obeyed immediately, pressing the appropriate button, unsurprised when the car made absolutely no external indication it had been unlocked, when normally Cadillac cars flashed their orange, parking lights when either locked or unlocked; it seemed Joker had disabled this feature for just a circumstance as this. "Ready?" he asked, glancing behind him again. "…Go." The next few moments happened very quickly. Jayde ran out across the sidewalk, followed closely by Joker, only for both of them to pull open the front and rear passenger seats facing the theater, closing them immediately after. Jayde reached over hastily, just as Joker had instructed and started the powerful truck while Joker climbed into the driver's seat from the back, pressing the lock on the doors quickly before he pulled them away from the curb. Not even two seconds later, a black Lincoln Town Car pulled out onto the street a block or two behind them, gaining speed as the Escalade tore down the dark, empty street.

The roaring sound of the engines seemed magnified as they flew between the shoddy buildings and Jayde was just noticing this when she jumped as several loud bangs sounded from the back of the speeding SUV. She turned to look behind them but Joker had started laughing as he hooked a sharp right, the back wheels of the Escalade screaming.

"HA!" he shouted, shaking his head. "Bulletproof! Genius!"

For several seconds, Jayde stared at him, her eyes wide, her jaw hanging slightly slack as she wondered how the hell he managed to stay so calm and seemingly worry-free while some unidentified enemy was trying to kill him. She was about to scream at him to _please _act more urgent when he stopped laughing somewhat abruptly, turning the Escalade again, hooking a wide left onto a long strip of road, down near a massive storage facility and old garages. "You know what's _not _bulletproof though?" he asked of nobody in particular, picking up the gun he had set in his lap. "Take the wheel," he then instructed in a growl, leaving Jayde to grab it when he took both of his hands off, rolling down the driver's side window to lean out slightly.

Jayde tried hard to concentrate on the road and keeping the incredibly heavy SUV going straight but as Joker began firing at the car chasing them, she glanced over for a half-second, noticing the murderous snarl of a scowl on his face. The gun in his hand practically vibrated, sending continuous shots into the Lincoln, shattering the windshield, piercing the radiator under the hood so white, thick steam began to billow out. More gunshots rang out as the mystery assailants in the Lincoln returned fire but again, the massive backside of the Escalade took the brunt of them, practically absorbing them into it's reinforced metal and thick bulletproof plastic window. A moment later, Joker was sliding back into the driver's seat, rolling up the window to take control of the wheel again.

The Lincoln seemed to have slowed a great deal, probably from all the radiator fluid leaking along the street now, leaving Joker and Jayde in the Escalade to gain a good amount of ground. The wheels skidded a bit again when Joker hooked another left, going only a few blocks before he took another right, followed by one more immediate turn into a wide alley, bordered on either side by large garages, all closed and chained down for the night…all save for one.

As Joker pulled the Escalade quickly into the small garage, he chuckled to himself. "This is James' garage," he explained to her. "I'm _sure _he wont mind if we park here tonight…" he then added with another laugh, shutting off the Cadillac to open the door and climb out. Jayde copied him, walking to the back of the SUV with Joker's gun still in hand. When she reached him, he had just pulled down the heavy, metal garage door, locked the giant padlock, locked the Escalade and was now walking back through the garage to a narrow door on the far inside wall. Jayde followed without question, blinking hard when they stepped into a hallway, illuminated up ahead by a red, battery-operated exit sign, showing them another, further door with a musty, translucent window at the top. Joker walked toward it briskly and Jayde trotted after him, glancing behind her into the other end of the dark hallway, hoping and praying their attackers had not caught up yet.

At the door, Joker paused, leaning up a bit to peer out through the dirty window, turning his head to look both ways before opening it to step out slowly and silently. With the metal door swung open, protecting them from one side of the sidewalk, Jayde stepped out behind Joker, resting her hand on his side as she leaned into him, staring around so intently, she jumped when he spoke quietly.

"See that path right there?" he asked, rolling his eyes slightly in the direction directly in front of them, across the street. Jayde glanced over quickly, turning back to look up at him for further instructions. "Run across and just start walking. It's a little bike path." When she hesitated, her eyebrows forming that small wrinkle between them as she frowned, Joker sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. "I'm coming too." He assured her hastily before glancing around the edge of the door along the dark, two lane street on the other side. He nodded his head once. "Ok, let's go." And with that, they both trotted out from behind the door, both turning their heads to look opposite ways down the street. Fortunately, it seemed clear and empty of people, being that it was nearly one in the morning on a Monday night.

Once they had both made it into the safety of the narrow concrete path, shrouded on either side by a healthy mix of living and dead trees, Jayde heard Joker sigh beside her, reaching out to wrap his arm around her shoulders, while his other hand, complete with gun, slid into his pocket casually. Wildly, Jayde wondered where they were supposed to be going, being that they had completely abandoned their only means of transportation, but at this point, she honestly didn't care, as long as they got there soon. Now that the adrenaline and excitement had worn off, Jayde was starting to realize rather quickly that she _still _needed to pee. It seemed Joker had relaxed a great deal and she trusted that they were headed somewhere safe now, somewhere she could take these boots off.

They walked and walked in near silence for what seemed like a half hour until Joker began veering off of the path to the right, his footfall barely making a sound as he walked into the grass and leaves. Jayde followed him immediately, trying to keep her steps as quiet as his as they slinked along a tall, wooden fence. Off of the path, where the trees were thicker, the light of the moon did not do much to help them see as Joker slid his right, gloved hand along the fence, obviously feeling for something, although Jayde had no idea what. A few times, he paused, glancing up at the fence, even once turned and used his hands to pull himself up high enough to see over it, but he had continued on, his hand still sliding along. Jayde watched, intrigued, but did not dare ask.

Finally, it seemed Joker had found what he was looking for and turned once again to the fence, kneeling down slightly to pull that flashlight back out of his pocket and click it on, shining the small beam of light at the wood before him. Looking down interestedly, hoping and praying that this was their last stop of the night, Jayde watched as Joker slid open a small rectangular piece of wood up into the fence, revealing a tiny keypad complete with numbers one through zero. They emitted a barely noticeable, high-pitched beep as he punched in four numbers, before he stood up again, watching the area of the fence next to Jayde. Beside her, the wood began to slide slowly to the left, revealing a narrow opening that led into a small backyard, just behind an equally small, but quaint two story house. Jayde was just about to comment quietly on how this person had an unusually high-tech way of getting into their yard when Joker turned sideways to pass through the opening, ducking slightly as he went, even though there was nothing over his head. Once Jayde had stepped in after him, Joker walked over and slid the section of the wood back into place before punching in another four numbers on an identical keypad on the inside of the fence. He must have noticed how confused Jayde was feeling when he stood up, so he paused, figuring that he had some time to explain now.

"This is Maggie's place," he told her quietly, pointing up at the dark back of the house before he turned back to the fence and motioned toward the metal tracking and chains that moved the 'door'. "Dotcom and I came and set this up a few years ago when I got the house." he paused, rolling his eyes as he led her over to the stairs leading up to a long patio. "She wasn't feeling '_safe' _without me here and I figured I would probably need to hide out here at some point so…He 'n I came over and installed that." He finished explaining and was just turning to the back door of Maggie's house, pulling his ring of keys from his pocket when Jayde frowned, glancing back over at the yard.

"Couldn't someone just…climb over?" she asked, her voice equally quiet, but Joker let out a grunt of a laugh, unlocking the door.

"Oh, I forgot…_And _ we set up a three foot electric fence around the top…Just in case." With that, he pushed open the door to the house, stepping inside to hold it open long enough for Jayde to walk in after him before he closed it again, locking the deadbolt. They had stepped into a small, vintage-style kitchen and Jayde took a breath in through her nose, instantly picking up the smell of coffee and vanilla, but wasn't left much time to enjoy it when Joker walked on into the rest of the house, leaving her to follow like a puppy once again.

The kitchen led out into a small living room where Jayde noticed a really comfortable-looking couch. Without any hesitation, she walked toward it, immediately plopping down with a heavy sigh, finally feeling a bit more relaxed and not as on-edge. Joker watched her go with every intention of following, but paused as he glanced up at the stairs to the left of him. It seemed Jayde was a bit hesitant to get comfortable, probably fearing that they would not be staying here. He nodded at her. "Relax, we're gonna stay here until morning. I'm going to tell Mags." He explained before he headed up the narrow set of stairs, his heavy boots making hardly any noise on the old wooden steps.

The second story was exactly as Joker could remember it; cramped and somewhat cluttered with old pictures and random items, none of which he could remember stopping to look at. The hallway to that led down to his old room was slightly brighter than the rest, dimly lit by a long sliver of moonlight let in by a musty, translucent sky-light. As interesting as it seemed to go down and snoop around in his old room, see if she had changed anything but Joker knew how Maggie felt about intruders and did not want to end up at the business end of the double-barrel shotgun he had given her. So instead of hooking a right around the banister, he walked straight head down a short hallway until he reached the slightly cracked door leading to Maggie's bedroom. Pushing it open as quietly as he could, Joker took one half-step inside before he spoke her name.

"Maggie," he said firmly, hoping her wake her up without startling her. From past experience, this seemed the only way he could do that, thus why he was all the way across the room. Apparently, living by herself for so many years had taught her a few things. When she did not answer, he tried again, a bit louder. "Maggie." Finally, he heard a slight snort from the bed before a groan.

"Hm? What?" she finally answered, turning onto her back.

"It's Jay," he identified himself. "Me 'n Jayde are here for the night. We should be leaving by eleven." He then went on to explain, resting the side of his head against the door as Maggie turned back onto her side with a grunt.

"Sure, baby. Let me know if you need anything." She answered groggily so Joker left the room, closing the door behind him as he went.

After stopping in the upstairs bathroom to rinse as much of the remaining greasepaint from his face as he could and after making it back downstairs, Joker noticed that Jayde had already gotten her boots off and was now sitting in the middle of the couch, her arms folded over her stomach, the heels of her socked feet up and rested on the edge. Her eyes were widened slightly as she stared at her knees, obviously tired and trying hard to stay awake. Joker couldn't help but grin as he stepped down from the bottom step to walk over, but paused once again when he remembered Dotcom and Tre. Luckily, Jayde's phone was still in his pocket so after retrieving it, he dialed the number to Tre's phone and held it between his ear and shoulder so he could sit down and begin to untie and loosen his boots. After a few short rings, his buddy answered.

"Ay, nigga, I coulda' _sworn _you said meet back at the house by one but…" he immediately began, but Joker cut across him rolling his eyes.

"Jayde and I got run up by some of Celini's thugs," he explained, pausing to glance over at Jayde when she blinked, turning her head to watch him and listen. "Apparently, they weren't too happy I killed the boss-man…" he then grumbled rather off-handedly before he took a deep breath. "_Anywho…_The Cadillac needs some work and it's parked over in James' garage. Luckily, ya boy remembered to grab his keys before we left." He paused to chuckle at his own cunning. "So at nine, I need you and Dotcom to come to Maggie's…He knows where it is." There was a good, solid pause before Tre's voice answered.

"…Damn, alright, bruh." He paused again before he continued. "Ay, Ki, nine is really early, can we do…" Joker sighed, pulling the phone away from his ear.

"_Nine, _Tre." He insisted, before ending the call abruptly and standing up from the stairs to _finally _walk over and sit down next to his lady. In all the excitement, he had nearly missed noticing how professional, calm and obedient Jayde was behaving during their whole ordeal and the thought of it now brought a tired, but proud smile to his face.

Jayde looked up just as Joker walked over and sat down at the end of the couch with a slight groan, exhaling in a comfortable sigh. Without even pausing to think about it, she scooted closer, sliding her legs to rest over one of his as she turned sideways, fitting against him like a perfect puzzle piece. It seemed Joker had been predicting this as his arm wrapped around her a second later. Her head came to rest on that one comfortable spot where his shoulder met his chest just as she took a deep breath with her yawn, sliding her hand onto his warm chest, hoping he wouldn't notice her attempt at easing him into cuddling. It had been such a long, eventful day and this right here was all she wanted at the moment.

Either Joker understood this or felt the same way, Jayde wasn't sure nor really cared, but when his other hand moved to gently grip her forearm, she noticed he had taken his gloves off at some point and she sighed comfortably at the feel of his bare hands. She let a few seconds go by before she lifted her head slightly, looking up at him in the blueish, dim light flooding into the room from the paned windows behind them. A tiny grin pulled at her face when he opened his still partially, black-ringed eyes to focus them down at her.

"Hi," she said quietly, gazing across his makeup-less face, feeling as though she had not seen him in a while. Joker let out a short sigh through his nose as the back of his head came to rest on the couch behind him and he smirked, his gaze bouncing back and forth between her eyes a few times.

"Hi," he eventually answered, turning his head slightly to look at her more fully. "Did you have _fun_ tonight?" he went on to ask, his smirk expanding when Jayde's eyes widened by a fraction, just a moment before they fell to the neckline of his shirt.

"It wasn't _fun, _but…" she began to say, but frowned slightly, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought back on the surprising evening. A moment later, she shrugged with a guilty grin, nodding her head a few times. "Alright, yeah, it was _kinda _fun." She admitted with a quiet giggle. Joker breathed a laugh, that rare, genuine smile of his wrinkling his nose a bit, just before he leaned forward, pulled her face toward him and touched his lips to hers gently. _Finally, _Jayde thought wildly to herself, trying not to melt right into the couch when his thumb just barely slid across her cheek, his other four fingers rested along her jaw. She responded to him instantly, moving the slightest bit closer to deepen their kiss, again placing her hand on his chest. Unfortunately, this time, he pulled away slightly but Jayde kept her eyes closed, hoping beyond anything he wouldn't stop there. However, when his hand moved slightly, tilting her chin up a fraction of a inch, prompting her to look at him, she reluctantly obeyed, sliding her eyes open to stare up at him hopefully in the dark.

"Ya did good tonight, kiddo," he complimented, his features staying flat and expressionless as Jayde smiled proudly, her gaze dropping from his eyes to the deep scar on his bottom lip. Her hand betrayed her mind by sliding up along his chest, over his shoulder to the back of his neck, pulling him down a bit so she could lean up and meet his lips halfway. The soft, yet tired sigh that left him against her was highly indicative of the night they had just experienced but also of how comfortable he felt with her. It seemed he could truly relax in her presence and while their lips moved gently against each other, Jayde could feel his heart beat through his chest against her forearm, slow and steady. However, it wasn't long before he pulled away, leaving her with one last kiss before he yawned, reaching into his pocket.

His hand reappeared just a moment later, holding that gun he had disarmed upon reaching the house and he placed it on the arm rest of the couch beside him.

"Try to get some sleep," his deep, groggy voice instructed as he closed his eyes, the back of his head coming to rest against the couch again. "We gotta leave pretty early." Jayde nodded an understanding against his chest, tightening her grip ever so slightly on her life-sized, Joker pillow. Her brain immediately felt foggy and hazy, Joker doing wonders to help by letting the tip of his pointer finger trace patterns along the back of her arm lightly and Jayde was just about to slip off when she sighed comfortably. It was somewhat surprising how quickly she found herself falling asleep and how fuzzy her brain felt, to the point where she felt her mouth open one more time.

"G'night, Kieron," she murmured with hardly any notice to what she had said. Oh, she had heard it come out of her mouth, but it seemed she had already gotten too close to sleeping to care about correcting herself at this point. Just next to her, Joker hummed in his chest, reaching up to scratch his jaw sleepily.

"G'nigh', baby," he answered as naturally as though he had not even noticed her use of his real name and with the thought of finally getting through to this 'Kieron' person, Jayde drifted off, curled up against him.

Five minutes later, she was taking a deep breath in through her nose against the cushion of the vintage-style couch, her eyes opening immediately when the heavenly scent of coffee and bacon reached her senses. Surprisingly, the sun was already up, shining in through the huge pane of windows above the couch, only _slightly _inhibited by the sheen white drapes someone had pulled together. Blinking hard now, Jayde pushed herself from laying on her stomach along the couch, her head turned toward the back of it and she cringed when her neck smarted a bit from it's strained position.

Apparently, at some point, Joker had gotten up from the couch and gone…_somewhere_, leaving Jayde by herself in the vaguely familiar living room; in the daylight, this could have been an entirely different house altogether and she would not have noticed. Now that she was feeling more awake, the sound of crackling bacon reached her ears, the scent now more intense as her stomach growled fiercely. So since Jayde was finding it _highly _unlikely that Joker was in the kitchen, humming to himself and cooking breakfast, she stood up from the couch to go join Maggie.

She rounded the corner, rubbing one of her eyes, ignoring the fact that she had been wearing mascara the previous night and that it _might _be smearing all over her face. Her balled fist had just relaxed and she was blinking hard when Maggie let out a surprised gasp, causing Jayde to jump, both women having startled each other. Maggie laughed, shaking her head as she turned from the stove.

"I'm not used to having people in my house again!" she explained, walking over to the far end of the upper cabinets, rising up onto her toes to retrieve a mug. "I woke up this morning and came downstairs, 'n…there you both were! I thought I had been dreaming last night!" she chuckled again to herself, rolling her eyes as she walked over to usher Jayde into one of the chairs at the small, round kitchen table. She set the mug down in front of her, along with a french press full of hot, beautiful coffee. Jayde laughed groggily, reaching out immediately to pour herself some. Her eyebrows furrowed when she remembered the lack of Joker.

"Where uh-…" she stared but paused when Maggie held up a small carton of cream and bowl of sugar with her eyebrows raised. "Yes, please." She answered with a smile in reference to whether or not she wanted something in her coffee. Maggie waddled over, setting them down in front of her.

"He's upstairs in my bed," she answered, walking back over to the stove. "Poor thing- When I came downstairs at five, he was sitting on the floor against the couch with his head on the armrest, trying so hard to stay awake," she went on to explain, turning to look at Jayde. "So since I turned his old room into a studio, I made him go get some sleep in mine." Jayde felt a mix of emotions at this information- a bit of heart-warming appreciation for his decision to let her lay along the couch, but also a bit of guilt for having slept fairly well while he was sitting on the floor, trying to stay awake. If she had known it had not been his intention to fall asleep as well, she would have stayed up with him…Her eyes fell to a swirling trail of cream in her coffee but Maggie was continuing. "He may be a little strange…" _Bit of an understatement, _thought Jayde. "-But he _is_ a gentleman…-to a _very _select group of people, though, mind you." She paused, rolling her eyes to ceiling, thinking before she added, "and by select group, I mean you and me."

Jayde laughed, nodding as she set her mug of coffee back down on the table before her. The wonderful scent and taste was already doing wonders to help wake her up and she was beginning to notice the cute décor of Maggie's house. It almost felt like having stepped into a house from the fifties or sixties, all of the appliances and colors screaming vintage, although everything looked fairly updated, like she had chosen to decorate her house this way, versus it simply having been like this for the past sixty years. Jayde was just admiring the gas stove, complete with broiler hatch and old-fashioned knobs, when Maggie walked to the fridge and opened it, revealing that it was perfectly functional, even though the rest of her house was seemingly powerless.

"How is your fridge working?" she asked abruptly, somewhat surprised by how awake she was already feeling. "Your power isn't off?"

"Oh, _yes_, it is," She answered, cutting a stick of butter into tabs for the heavenly smelling toast she had just pulled from the oven. "When I cut his hair yesterday, he told me what he was going to do so I could change the batteries in that…fence out there. And luckily, I had an old generator so I had him hook it up this morning." She turned away from the stove a bit, raising her maroon colored eyebrows behind her rectangular-framed glasses. "No, I was listening to the radio earlier, _everyone's _power is out…" she shook her head, turning back to the stove. "He really did a number on Gotham this time. People are freaking out." She huffed, tossing a hand as she began to butter toast after exchanging the cooked bacon in the pan for raw. "Jesus, he tries to kill the mayor and people are _kinda _scared. But he blows up a power plant and _everyone _loses power? Businesses and restaurants, _salons? _People are _losing it, _honey."

Jayde would have responded with something probably not as enthusiastic, as she had kind of predicted that sort of reaction from the city, but she was cut off by the loud ringing off a cell phone on the other side of the room, back over by the couch. Figuring that it was probably Dotcom or Tre, she hopped up from the chair and trotted over, following the ringing until she made it to the coffee table where she found her phone. Her heart gave a little jump when she saw it was Dotcom.

"Hey," she answered with a grin, bringing it to her ear.

"Ohmigod, hi, honey, how are you? Are you ok?" he immediately spat out and Jayde couldn't help but laugh when she pictured him sitting in his room with his legs crossed daintily and his hand up and in front of his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We're at Maggie's. He's asleep." She explained, walking back into the kitchen for her coffee when Dotcom paused to yawn.

"Oh, alright. Well…we're about to be coming down the street, so you might want to go wake him up," he suggested, leaving Jayde to glance down at the phone to see the time "8:56". She pressed it to her ear again.

"Yeah, Ok, I'll go do that now."

Once Jayde had hung up, she took another sip of her coffee before she stood from the table, looking over at Maggie. "I gotta go wake him up. Dotcom and Tre are about to be here." she said, but then slid from the room when Maggie nodded.

On the second floor, after walking the wrong way down the hall and stumbling in on Maggie's studio, Jayde found herself pushing open the door to a dark bedroom, spilling in light from the windows on the other side of the hall. A wide, old-fashioned bed sat directly ahead of her, within it, a lumpy mass hidden completely from view by a thin comforter and lilac sheets. A smile jumped to her face as she stepped into the room, leaving it open by only a foot to allow her some light. At the side of the bed, she stopped, her eyes falling onto the top of the blankets where a few green tufts of hair stuck out against the white pillowcase. That silly grin expanded to a stupid smile as she sat down on the edge of the bed slowly, the frame squeaking a bit under her. From underneath the blanket, Jayde heard him take a deep breath in through his nose just before his hand moved the blanket down away from his face, revealing his fuzzy hair, scowling expression and the one squinting eye he was trying to force open to see who had woken him. He exhaled in a long sigh, flipping over onto his other side with his back to her once he had seen who it was.

"Five more minutes, Mommy," he growled in a rough, gravely voice, sounding absolutely nothing like a kid that just wanted to sleep in a bit longer. Jayde scooted closer to him, giggling quietly as she slid her arm over his hip to lean on her hand in front of him and she tilted her head to the side, trying to see his face around his arm.

"Dotcom and Tre are going to be here any minute," she explained, her voice soft. "And Maggie made breakfast." That grin returned to attack her face when Joker groaned deeply, poking his bottom lip out slowly as he frowned against the pillow. Finally, he rolled onto his back reluctantly, letting his hand reach out to glide along her arm that was now rested across his stomach. A moment later, he held both of his arms lazily out in the air above him.

"Ok, you're gonna carry me downstairs, ready?" he asked but frowned again when Jayde laughed, standing up from the bed.

"Not hardly," she answered, walking over to the door, leaving Joker to pout on the bed as he sat up.

Downstairs, when Jayde returned to the kitchen, she had been expecting Tre and Dotcom to have arrived by then but was mildly surprised they hadn't. Maggie didn't leave her much time to think about it before she walked over, ushering Jayde into her previous chair at the table, with a stern 'sit'. She set a plate of toast, bacon, and eggs in front of her.

"Eat. You and Jay both look too skinny." She stated as though this were fact, turning from the table to place her hands on her hips. "Oh, speak a' the devil…"

Jayde turned sideways in the chair to look up when Joker stepped into the kitchen, looking more tired than usual from the thin black, smudged rings of makeup on his eyelids that he had failed to completely rinse off. He was caught mid-yawn but his eyebrows arched as he exhaled with a groan, shaking his head back and forth.

"No, Mags, _Joker…_" he corrected her, stopping next to the table where Jayde sat. "I don't know _why _everyone is always trying to call me that…" he added in a grumble before his hand reached out, sliding into the top of Jayde's loose hair to pull back on her hair tightly, tilting her head back. He leaned down a second later and kissed her lightly, releasing her hair the next moment to straighten back up and walk over to the fridge. Jayde stared after him, trying hard to prevent herself from blushing when she noticed Maggie turn from where he had just kissed her to where he stood now, pouring a glass of orange juice. She seemed to be fighting herself on whether or not to comment… _Thankfully, _she seemed to think better of it and stayed silent.

"I sure hope you plan on eating something," she said to him, placing one hand on her hip as he frowned straight down at her. It was truly amusing to Jayde how funny he looked standing next to someone even shorter than her. Maggie reached out, lifting up his black shirt to point at his stomach with the back end of a wooden spoon and she gasped, pinching his side as though it was worse than she had expected. "You're skin and bones! Both of you!"

This was not even remotely true and Jayde was just laughing at Joker as he frowned and reached out to pinch Maggie back when a knock at the front door across the room caught her attention. She stood up and trotted over, unlocking the two dead bolts to open the door and step back. When she saw the expression on Tre's face, she could not help but let out a laugh; he did _not _look happy. Dotcom, on the other hand, looked excited to see her and Jayde grinned widely at him once Tre had gone inside, raising her arms to put them around his shoulders and squeeze him as he hugged back.

They separated quickly and followed Tre into the kitchen where he stopped dead in his tracks, locking his blank, annoyed glare with the matching one on Joker's face. No one moved nor said a word as they glared for several seconds before they both started talking at the same time, their voices raised.

"Man, I _told _younine was too early, this shit,"

"_NOO, _you had _plenty _a' time to get some sleep,"

And for several, long seconds, they both argued at each other at the same time in loud voices until Joker shook his head, holding up a hand.

"Stop." He instructed, taking a step toward the door leading out into the back yard. "C'mon, I wanna show you that fence I was tellin' you about." And as if they had not just been 'bickering', Maggie, Dotcom and Jayde watched as Tre followed Joker out onto the porch and into the back yard. They laughed as Dotcom sat down at the table across from Jayde, pouring some coffee from the french press into a mug Maggie had just brought over. His eyes glanced over the top of his glasses at Jayde before he looked to Maggie, grinning.

"So, did you notice our little lovebirds?" he asked, his grin expanding when Jayde gasped quickly in surprise, her cheeks warming again. Maggie gasped as well, turning from the stove to walk over and sit at the table with her own mug of coffee. From the way she reached out and put her hand on Dotcom's forearm, Jayde was assuming that Maggie also knew he was gay.

"_Honey_…When I came downstairs this morning and he had let her sleep on the couch? With him on the _floor?_" she rolled her eyes slightly before she looked to Jayde. "Sweetie…I don't know if anyone's eva' told you this but you are one. lucky. girl…to be alive." She explained but then tacked the end of that on there with a nod at Jayde. "This might sound crazy 'n all, but you just may have caught yourself a good man with that one." Jayde smirked at her coffee, wondering if she was right…it seemed a little too early to tell.

A few minutes later, Joker and Tre were stepping back inside, talking about how he installed the high-tech fence and Jayde had just finished eating the toast and a piece of bacon when Dotcom seemingly just remembered that he had brought something with him. He leaned to the side, pulling a small duffle bag from the chair next to him.

"Here," he handed the bag to Joker before he took another long sip of coffee. "I brought you guys a change of clothes. What's the plan?" he then asked, looking to Joker who was now scowling at the bag dangling from his arm.

"Wait, wait…You went in my room and got these out of my closet?" he asked, arching an eyebrow severely at Dotcom, who instantly began to stammer somewhat awkwardly. A second later, both of his eyebrows raised together in expectation.

"Yeah, uh-…I figured if you two had to go outside, you would stick out wearing matching camo and black…So…" Dotcom explained hastily, but then paused, staring at Joker as he nodded, a mildly surprised expression on his face as he glanced at Tre next to him.

"Smart man…" he commented, tossing a pair of jeans and a white top at Jayde that Dotcom had probably enjoyed picking out for her. "Go change," he instructed her, pleased with the way she stood up instantly after another sip of coffee and left the kitchen to go obey him. Once her soft, socked footfall had retreated up the stairs, Joker turned to Dotcom and Tre but paused when Maggie interrupted him while she had the chance.

"How were you not gonna tell me about you and…" she insisted, turning from the stove as she motioned at the ceiling with a waved hand. Joker sighed, his shoulders slumping as he closed his eyes irritably.

"Be-_cause_, there's nothing _to _tell that you couldn't already guess or that _this _one hasn't told you." He answered shortly, motioning at Dotcom with his thumb. "_Now, _fellas, I need you to go out the back and walk to James' garage to get the Escalade. It's right across the street once you get to the end of the bike trail." At this, Joker paused, leaning down slightly to pat each one of his pockets until he heard and felt the jingle of keys and he pulled them out, handing them to Tre. "Dotcom, you drive since you know the back roads. There's probably more than a couple bullet marks in the back end so take it easy and use the scanner." Again, he paused, taking a deep breath in only to exhale heavily a moment later. "As for Jayde and I, we'll drive the truck back to the house, where I am going to, as they say…pass the fuck out." At this, Tre made a indignant noise, tossing both of his hands but Joker was quick to shake his head. "AH! You can go back to sleep once you guys get back with-."

Just then, Jayde returned, looking and probably feeling better in a pair of dark, blue jeans that hugged her legs all the way down to her ankles and a loose-fitting, white, button down top. Luckily, she was busy tying the end of the long, somewhat loose black plait she had just braided over her shoulder so she missed the way Joker stopped dead in his sentence to look over and stare at her.

"-the Cadillac." He finished a few seconds later, blinking a few times as he turned back to Tre as Dotcom stood up. "So you guys head out through the back. We're gonna leave as soon as I change."

"And as soon as you eat something!" Maggie chimed in, winking at Jayde. With Tre and Dotcom exiting through the back door, Joker turned to look at her.

"If I eat something, can I go put this on then go home?" he bartered, raising his eyebrows hopefully. Quickly, Maggie nodded, smiling at him, but her expression went flat when he picked up a half piece of toast and held it up. "Look- something." He explained before he stuck it between his teeth and left the kitchen, his nose in the air, leaving Maggie and Jayde to roll their eyes simultaneously.

Fortunately, Joker did not seem to be taking his time and before long, he returned, stuffing his previous clothes back into the bag as he entered the kitchen. His eyebrows raised although his noticeably tired eyes stayed somewhat half-lidded as he looked to Jayde.

"You ready to go?" he asked, holding out his hand for her folded clothes to put in the bag. Jayde nodded wordlessly, honestly a little surprised that the coffee had worn off so quickly, leaving her tired and somewhat achy from sleeping awkwardly on the couch for most of the night. With the bag zipped and his boot laces tied together so he could hang them around the strap of the duffle, Joker glanced at Maggie, nodding his head toward the front door. "Maggie, you've been the perfect hostess," he told her charmingly, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek once they had made it to the front door. She kissed him back firmly, right on his scar before she squeezed his arm and reached out for a hug from Jayde.

"Oh, ya know me. You're welcome to hide out from the fuzz here any time." She offered, leaving Jayde with a kiss on the cheek before she saw them both out and closed the door behind them. Jayde heard both deadbolts shift into place behind them as she followed Joker down a small path and over to Tre's massive truck. For a few moments, she had nearly forgotten that she and Joker were now outside, in broad daylight, walking out to the street after their crazy night, however, Joker seemed perfectly at ease as he walked around the truck to get into the driver's seat. Jayde copied him on the other side, shifting her knees when he tossed the bag and the boots onto the floor in front of her. He sighed, pushing a few pieces of his hair from his face as he started the powerful engine.

Surprisingly, the back streets Joker was taking seemed perfectly empty, save for one or two cars passing here and there, and Jayde figured that it had something to do with the fact that most, if not all businesses and offices were closed, due to lack of electricity. Beside her, Joker seemed to be off in his own world, thinking hard about something as he scowled through the windshield. Jayde did not want to disrupt him but he had been in a fairly good mood lately so she decided to press her luck and turned to him slightly, taking in everything about the masculine curve of his jaw, accented by the neater of his two scars on the right side of his face. She grinned when she noticed his eyebrow start to arch, a usual precursor to him asking what the _fuck _she was staring at.

"Maggie seems to think I got a good man," she commented a second later, turning her attention back to the windshield. Beside her, Joker gave no indication he had heard her, nor even took his eyes from the road. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat.

"She's lying."

Jayde's grin expanded into a full-blown smile.

A/N: GUYS! Sorry about the wait, it was one of those kinda weeks. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter = ] I felt it was necessary to bring Maggie in more and have everyone get to know her personality a bit. There's more to come very soon so stay tuned! We're SOO CLOSE TO THE END! THEN THE CONTEST IS ON! I STILL WANNA HEAR FROM EVERYONE WHO IS GOING TO PARTICIPATE! LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU WANT THIS NEXT CHAPTER! -QoM


	34. Message from QOM please read

Hey all!

SO SORRY ABOUT THIS WAIT! I was distracted first, by Harry Potter 7.2, (best ever, definitely cried), then my computer decided it felt like not working. So anyways, new chapter is almost done! Then it's on to the two endings and that CONTEST! WHAT WHAT? And I wanted to start getting email addresses from everyone who would be participating in the contest, just so I could be prepared, get a count of how many of you plan on participating and keep stuff organized. So go ahead and send me an email from your primary email address with your pen name (real or fake, your call). My address: queen of mean 389 gmail. Com

Again sorry for the wait but stay ready! We are just around the corner from the end(s)!

Yours, most true and sincere, the Queen of Mean.


	35. Calm Before the Storm

The time was on the verge of striking two o'clock in the afternoon when Jayde remembered the Joker asking her earlier that morning to come and wake him up if he wasn't out of his room by then. She and Dotcom had been either sitting on the couch watching tv or out on the porch for most the afternoon so far since neither had really deemed it necessary to take a nap. Joker and Tre, on the other hand, had retreated fairly immediately to their separate rooms, blinking slowly with a yawn or two and neither had been seen since around ten-thirty that morning. So now, at two, Jayde stood from the couch, excusing herself to go wake him up, with the sole purpose of avoiding a bitching-out from Joker if she let him sleep longer than he had wanted.

Upstairs and inside his room, Jayde blinked hard to try and see her way to the bed, walking slowly and carefully through his cave of a room, hoping to stay silent and keep him asleep until she could wake him properly. However, the closer she grew to the bed, she began to grow more aware that his usual deep breathing or quiet, growling snore was absent from the room and her stomach gave a slight lurch like she had missed a step going downstairs. Even after this long, she still felt hesitation about approaching the Joker in a dark room.

At the edge of the bed, she reached out, pulling back the sheets and warm comforter to slide between them, mildly surprised that Joker wasn't sleeping in his normal spot on the left side, closest to the nightstand. The spot where she lay down and turned onto her side was still warm however, as though someone had just been laying right there. Her eyebrows had just begun to furrow in slight confusion when she heard him take a deep, slow breath in through his nose. A moment later, her rapidly deepening, confused frown relaxed into a grin when two large, warm hands reached out, strong fingers wrapping around her wrists to pull her closer slowly. That deep breath escaped from his chest in one long, low groan.

"I'm glad you came up here." he growled, his voice deep and raspy as though he had just woken moments before she entered the room. Jayde smiled, sliding her eyes closed as he pressed his lips to the palm of her hand, pursing them to leave a subtle kiss while his fingers remained firmly in place around her wrist.

"It's two," she answered softly. "I figured you wouldn't want to sleep all day."

Joker did not seem to be listening as he pulled her hand below the blankets and down to his lap where she gasped quietly, her eyes popping open; he was hard as a rock. He hmm-ed in his chest, against the pillow when her fingers wrapped around him and squeezed gently through his soft pajama pants. His hips rocked toward her in natural response.

"I had a dream about you," he explained to Jayde's somewhat surprised silence. When he heard her giggle a second later, he sighed slightly, relieved she hadn't asked him any details. All she needed to think was that he had dreamt about fucking her…and not that he had dreamt about stabbing her to death in her sleep. She leaned forward, rising onto her elbow next to him, to press her lips to his chin, leaving a kiss before she met his lips, catching them up with her own. Joker responded hungrily, releasing her wrist from his grip to slide his hand up along the dangerous curve of her body, under her shirt to her back where he unhooked the strap of her bra with one hand.

A moment later, Jayde's fingers had pushed down into his boxers to the painfully hard dick behind them, forcing him to pull away slightly, a staggered breath escaping him against her lips. In the vague darkness, he noticed the corners of her lips turn up in that perfectly sassy, proud way when she felt like she was in control.

"I guess _I'm _glad I came up here too," she purred, watching his half-lidded, glossy eyes as they slid down to her lips before he licked his own. He seemed to snap out of it a few seconds later when Jayde's grip tightened around him ever so slightly.

"And you still have pants on, because…" he growled, reaching down to unbutton and unzip her jeans before he let her take over, figuring it would be easier for both of them if she handled the rest. Then finally, with the jeans tossed from the edge of the bed, Joker sat up to his knees, sliding his fingers into the edges of her lace thong to pull it down her legs before he parted them, pushing them all the way open to expose her fully. Jayde gave a content sigh, closing her eyes when one of his fingers reached out to stroke her.

"No, no…" he started when she seemed to enjoy laying there while he touched her. "I want _you _to do this." He then explained, watching her face as she opened her eyes, frowning down at him in slight confusion. He grinned, leaning over her with one arm while the other grabbed her hand. "Here, lemme help," he offered a moment later, when it really did not seem like she understood him. Jayde's jaw dropped slightly when he slid two of her fingers into his mouth, moistening them before he pulled them down to her already wet pussy. "_You _do this…" he instructed, glancing at her face when she finally understood and grinned at him, pushing two fingers into herself with a soft moan. Goosebumps erupted all over Joker's skin, forcing a slight shiver from him when he leaned back, watching her glistening, sticky fingers slide in and out of her slowly, the dim light catching a glint of moisture each time.

As Joker watched, he noticed Jayde seemed to be enjoying herself and what's more, seemed to be _loving _the affect this was having on him. Her eyes were barely open as she watched him watch her fingers but then closed when she pulled them out, only to rub them across her most tender spot, arching her back slightly with another, louder groan. He watched this, shivering again when another electrifying shock ran up his spine, forcing his own hand to his dick as a staggered breath escaped him. Jayde seemed to understand this as encouragement to take things a step further and bring her other hand down to rub her clit while the other moved forward and back between her legs. She sighed, grinning to herself when one of Joker's hands reached out to grip her thigh hard enough to leave bruises; it seemed he was nearing the end of his patience with teasing himself.

After a few long moments, Jayde whimpered, pulling her fingers back at the same time Joker leaned forward, opening her eyes to stare up at him in the dark. "I can't do it like you do it," she whined softly, watching him as she took one of her sticky fingers into her mouth and his eyes followed suit, narrowing his gaze on her lips. His scars stretched into a smirk a moment later.

"Is that so?" he asked quietly, leaning down over her to catch her lips the moment she had removed her finger and his tongue instantly slipped out to trace the contour. A short groan escaped him against her mouth when he tasted her there. A second later, he pulled away, reaching down with two fingers to push them into her, his smirk expanding when she clenched hard around them in response. She nodded a reply to his question, her eyes sliding open once again to stare up at him hopefully in the dark, praying he was about to replace his fingers with something more satisfying. She had definitely not been expecting this when she came to wake him, but now that they were there, all she wanted was for this torturous teasing to end. Bringing her knees up, she gripped his hips with her legs, arching her back against him, her nails digging into his shoulders in impatience. Luckily, Joker seemed to get her point and Jayde couldn't help but sigh heavily against his scarred cheek when his hips rocked forward gently, pushing into her until their bodies met completely.

"Is that better?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Jayde shivered from the deep sound of it, gliding her hands along his broad, soft shoulders, down his arms to his wrists, on either side of her. Unsurprisingly, she found herself unable to answer coherently, a little thrown off by how gentle he was being, even after torturing both of them by having her finger herself. All she could manage was a hasty nod, even though she was fairly certain the teasing had not yet ended, as Joker's pace remained painfully slow and somewhat shallow. He grinned when her eyebrows furrowed slightly a few seconds later as she glanced down between their bodies, obviously a little confused by his actions. One of his eyebrows arched, accompanying his smirk when she looked up at him in mild frustration.

"What? Is that not good?" he asked jokingly, his smirk expanding into a full grin when she let out a frustrated whimper in reply, glancing down between them again. This was just _too _fun. But before he could even open his mouth to say something else and tease her further, a strong spasm of annoyance shot through Joker's lower half as though his body was opposed to this teasing as well and was urging him to get to it. Obediently, Joker growled and gritted his teeth as he bucked his hips forward, reaching as deeply into her as he could, pulling her closer to him with a tight grip on her hips. Jayde gasped in mingled pleasure and pain, arching her back when Joker sat up on his knees and picked up a strong, deep pace that pointed her toes and spread goosebumps all over her arms and legs.

"Is _that _better?" he asked, reaching out with both hands to grip her perfectly sized breasts. Again, she resorted to a nod, whimpering when Joker paused in his rhythm, rocking his hips slowly and deeply a few times, breaking up the pace before he would swing back into it again. "Rest assured, Jayde," he began a few moments later, grinning when she opened her eyes to look up at him. He leaned over her, placing his lips close to her ear. "You will _never _ find someone that can fuck you like I do."

Jayde was absolutely positive he was right.

Nearly an hour later, Jayde was trotting down the stairs, grinning to herself and tying her now frizzy hair back into a low ponytail when she noticed Dotcom out on the porch and headed toward the sliding door. He looked up as she stepped out, one of his eyebrows already arched from behind his glasses when he took in her slightly disheveled appearance.

"Is he awake?" he asked as she sat down, the wrinkles on his nose deepening when she reached out for a cigarette from his pack. She let out a breathless laugh as she brought it to her lips and prepared to light it.

"Yeah," she breathed, staring out at the pool. "He's awake, he's just…getting dressed." Beside her, when Jayde did not hear Dotcom give a reply, she looked over, grinning guiltily at the slightly revolted expression on his face. A pause went by before he shook his head, looking away.

"You guys are gross…" he muttered, ashing his cigarette as Jayde laughed, rolling her eyes.

"You like it in the butt, ok? Who's _gross_, here…" she retorted, laughing again more loudly when Dotcom tutted indignantly. A split second later, the glass door opened and Joker stepped out, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, _that_ sounded like an interesting conversation," he commented, taking a seat between Dotcom and Jayde at the round table, glancing back and forth between them as Jayde looked away pointedly and Dotcom stared at her, mouthing wordlessly.

"She was uh-, just kidding," he tried to explain, chuckling nervously in a very masculine voice as Joker rolled his eyes.

"Look, mate, I know you're into guys," he answered eloquently with a shrug of his shoulders, leaning forward to take the half-smoked cigarette from between Jayde's fingers and pull deeply from it. Dotcom's mouth fell open in shock.

"_WHAT?" _he asked as though he had not heard the Joker, and stared wide-eyed at him as he frowned with another hefty shrug of his shoulders. "Since _WHEN?" _ Joker laughed, shaking his head.

"Since _always_," he replied, waving his hand. Dotcom didn't seem to be finished and went on, that expression of utter shock and slight embarrassment still evident through every feature on his face.

"And you just let me go on and on, pretending to be straight all this time?" he asked more loudly, his voice raised slightly. Joker's frown deepened, glancing over at Jayde as he shrugged yet again.

"I thought it was funny," he put simply, looking back over to Dotcom, who by now seemed to understand how gracious the Joker had been with him all along. A moment later, Joker handed the cigarette back to Jayde, exhaling the smoke in his lungs. "But by no means does this give you permission to parade around in your…ass-less chaps or…whatever it is you fags wear." Jayde grinned sympathetically at Dotcom as he huffed irritably and Joker laughed heartily to himself. "Wow, this is turning out to be a great decision, telling him I know," he told Jayde, nodding at Dotcom as he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Now I can make gay jokes and actually make him mad!" Jayde shook her head, looking across the table to Dotcom, who brought his face up and looked to Joker, his eyebrows raised.

"Got a call from one of our guys-…" he started but Joker cut in quickly.

"_Naturally_, and?" Joker's lips thinned in a tight grin when Dotcom glared at him murderously.

"He said power is back on for most of Gotham and that the commissioner and mayor did a press conference…" he paused, glancing at Jayde as his expression morphed slightly to show concern. "I watched it and…I don't think you're gonna like it…" he ended, cringing slightly. Between them, Joker barked a laugh, pointing at Jayde with his thumb.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing I got laid today, huh? Am I right?" he asked animatedly, holding up a hand in the air for a potential high-five from Dotcom, but frowned as he rolled his eyes, completely ignoring it and stood up.

"I have it up on the computers in my room," he stated as he walked to the glass doors, sliding them open when both Joker and Jayde stood to follow him inside and over to the stairs to go up and into Dotcom's bedroom.

On the second story, Jayde followed Dotcom into the room, but glanced behind her only to laugh when Joker's nose wrinkled as he looked up a large, beautiful poster on the wall behind the door. It seemed he had not been in there since Dotcom had changed a few things and obviously found the new décor ten shades of homosexual. Luckily, Dotcom was already over at the wall of computer monitors at the far end of the room and was pulling up a window containing the frozen face of Commissioner Gordon, caught mid-word. Joker snorted a laugh through his nose after he had walked up and seen the screen. His elbow rested heavily on Jayde's shoulder as he leaned on her.

"Oh, this'll be _good…"_ he murmured as though watching a trailer for a new movie coming out, leaning forward slightly as Dotcom clicked on the play button. Jim Gordon's face began moving instantly, his familiar voice coming through the speakers.

"-have seen the threat-tape from the Joker on the internet and on the news recently, but this is our call to action. There is no time nor place in which we should respond or react to the whims of a terrorist. It is obvious the Joker does things for attention and press, so by ignoring his attempts, we take power from him and his people. Furthermore, for anyone watching this who is aiding the Joker's efforts, we _will _find you and you _will _be prosecuted. Again, we urge the city to stay alert and aware at all times, stay indoors and tomorrow night, for any firstborn child or teenager, under the age of eighteen, we _urge _you to stay inside. Parents, do not open the door for any reason whatsoever once your children are home. The best way to fight back is to take every measure possible to ensure you and your family's safety."

At this, Dotcom stopped the video but did not turn around in his chair yet, as though waiting until he could decipher the Joker's mood after seeing this. Even Jayde remained perfectly still beside him, not even daring to look up at him, although the weight from his forearm on her shoulder remained the same. Luckily, however, he snorted another laugh, tossing his head carelessly.

"Gee whiz, dontcha _love _it when people pretend to understand something they know _nothing _about?" he asked, his voice somewhat loud and slightly agitated, even though surprisingly, he was doing a good job of pretending to be unaffected. "Looks like _someone _just added themselves to my 'to-do' list for tomorrow night…" he then added, bouncing his eyebrows at Jayde once or twice before he turned and strode from the room, pulling a small phone from his pocket as he went. Dotcom looked to Jayde with a heavy sigh.

"Why didn't you tell me he knew?" he asked, as though nothing had just happened and she felt a tiny weight sink in the pit of her stomach. She shrugged with a vague cringe, hoping he wasn't about to be mad at her.

"He told me not to," she answered honestly. "I didn't want…I dunno, I'm sorry." A moment later, after he had considered this, he shrugged with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, whatever, I don't care. I'm just really glad I can stop pretending around him." he stood up, walking with her toward the door to step out and find out where Joker had just gone. Jayde glanced over at him beside her with an eyebrow arched.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't go all 'it's raining men' around him still," she suggested with a laugh. "He may be alright with it, but that doesn't mean he wants you wearing your ass-less chaps, like he said." Out in the hallway, where they noticed the closed door to Joker's bedroom, Dotcom tossed his hands as Jayde laughed.

"I don't _have _ass-less chaps!"

To everyone's mild surprise, Tre did not emerge from his bedroom until around six that evening once dinner was nearly done and the house had been filled with the thick, savory scent of something warm and wonderful. Unfortunately, Joker seemed to still be taking care of business up in his office and had not been seen since earlier. For a few minutes, Jayde considered going up and finding out what he was up to but figured if he hadn't been out in this long, it was obviously fairly important. So she remained where she was, in the kitchen with Dotcom, watching him cook. The sauce he had been creating diligently for the past hour had now turned a deep, rich red color and Jayde's stomach was just growling angrily when the sound of a door opening upstairs caught her attention.

Over at the stairs, Joker was now trotting down, scowling determinedly as he walked briskly over to the sliding glass door, but only to knock on it loudly. On the other side, Tre jumped with a frown, turning to look over his shoulder and stood once he noticed the Joker walking away, motioning with a hand over his shoulder for Tre to follow him. Joker was half-way back up the stairs when he stepped inside, exhaling the last bit of smoke in his lungs into the house.

"Whatchu need, bruh?" he asked, sliding the glass behind him.

"Got some black guy stuff I need help with," Joker replied without a second of hesitation, not even sparing a look down to the first floor when Dotcom and Jayde stifled laughter and Tre hung his shoulders with a hefty roll of his eyes. Seconds later, Tre had taken the stairs two at a time and they heard his voice pick up as he opened the door and stepped into the office. "Man, if it's some stupid shit like taping boxes, I'm finna-…" The rest of his words were muffled to inaudibility when the heavy, white, wooden door closed behind him. Jayde sighed, looking to Dotcom.

"I really wish he would just tell me what's going on," she told him somewhat wistfully. "It seems like something kinda big this time, and he hasn't said one word to me about it." Beside her, Dotcom remained pointedly silent, staring down at the swirling pot before him. Jayde noticed his lips tighten every so slightly when he felt her look over. A moment later, she made a loud noise of annoyance, tossing her hands. "You _know, _don't you?" she asked loudly but then pouted immediately when Dotcom looked up, his eyebrows raised.

"Of _course_ I do!" he answered honestly, as though she should have assumed this already. "But he told me not to tell you, so…" With this, he gave a shrug of his shoulders, his left eyebrow arched sharply as Jayde sighed again, staring off at the house. He rolled his eyes. "He always ends up telling you at the right time so just wait. I would be surprised if he didn't tell you tonight…"

Later that evening, after Jayde and Dotcom realized Joker and Tre were not coming down any time soon for dinner, after eating alone together outside on the patio, and after Jayde had let Dotcom go upstairs to shower and be on the phone in his room, she was just standing at the sink, rinsing off dishes when Joker and Tre came downstairs. They rounded either side of the kitchen opposite one another and Jayde couldn't help but smirk to herself when Tre went immediately to the stove for dinner and Joker walked up behind her, placing his hands on the edge of the granite counter on either side of her. His chin met her shoulder a moment later.

"I need you to grace me with your presence for a few minutes," he put smoothly, smirking at the side of her face when he noticed her grin but she kept her eyes on the dishes before her.

"Can I take a shower first?" she asked quietly as Tre walked past them out of the kitchen and over to the couch. Behind her, Joker hmm-ed, standing up to his full height only to let his hands slide down and take a firm hold of her ass.

"Yeah, that's fine." He answered after a pause, but then remained in place, both hands still gripping her when she shut off the water and glanced back up at him over her shoulder as he stared off somewhat dazedly.

"Uh…Can I go now?" she asked slowly, arching her eyebrows when Joker blinked several times as if coming out of a trance and grinned down at her, removing his hands to take a half-step back.

"Yeah, you can go."

Once Jayde had disappeared up the stairs and after retrieving a bowl of Dotcom's thick tomato soup, Joker sat down opposite Tre on the couch, who glanced over, frowning.

"You still tryna see how long you can grab her ass wit-," he began but Joker nodded, cutting across him.

"-Without her saying something? Yeah, I only got to about eight seconds that time. My goal is a full 60." Joker answered somewhat distractedly, his eyes now trained on the tv as he waited for his soup to cool to something less than boiling. Tre shook his head.

"You're a creep, bro-…" he murmured, pointing one finger at him when Joker looked up, scowling. He hesitated, his eyes flickering distastefully up and down Tre a few times before he went back to eating, leaving Tre to grin at how he would not trade his best friend for anything else in the world.

Before too long, Jayde was coming back downstairs, in comfortable clothing with her hair damp and curly. Tre looked up but Joker did not and instead simply moved his leg from rested on the coffee table so she could move past him and sit on the couch next to him. Obviously, she knew he still needed to talk to her but seemed to be refraining from making any noise while Tre was still in the room and while their attention was still focused on the tv. Luckily, however, the show went to commercial only a few moments after she sat down so Joker took a deep breath and looked over to Tre as his arm moved to rest behind her on the back of the couch.

"Tre, wont you excuse us?" he asked rather politely, his eyebrows raised, but only for his expression to fall a moment later when Tre shrugged.

"You both are excused," he answered by doing exactly what Joker had asked him to do, his eyes still watching the commercial playing on the tv. After leaning forward, taking his spoon from the empty bowl, Joker stuck it in his mouth to clean it off, then promptly threw it at Tre. He jumped, flinging the spoon away from him as though it had burned him and stood up from the couch, tossing one hand in his usual fashion. "DAMN, man, _fine." _ He growled as he walked away, over to his bedroom under the stairs. The moment he disappeared, Jayde turned to Joker, grinning somewhat excitedly.

"So you wanted to talk to me?" she asked, watching the side of his face until he turned his head to look at her and nod.

"I did," he answered. "I wanted to make sure you were clear on how everything is going to be happening tomorrow." At this, Jayde cut in, shaking her head with a slight frown.

"I have no idea what's going on tomorrow," she clarified, watching Joker's eyes as he frowned, cocking his head to the side, only to stare at her for several seconds until he rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

"Oh, _right…_You were on LSD when I told you," he finally remembered, ignoring the flat, annoyed expression that had just fallen onto Jayde's face. He went on, turning slightly to face her more fully. "_Well, _tomorrow night, my teams have been given the addresses of three families each- one important, political person and two randoms. They have been told to assassinate the firstborn child in that family." He paused, glancing at her eyes to check for any sign of protest; none so far. He went on a second later, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. "_Then, _I'm going to blow up all the dorms at Gotham University…lots of firstborns there." At this, he paused again, letting out one short laugh. "Which is just brilliant of me seeing how their curfew is at ten when the city is…'under attack'." He laughed more loudly, leaning forward slightly. "Because you _know _how I like my attention…" he then added sarcastically.

For a split second, Joker could have sworn Jayde was about to express her disapproval for the idea of killing a huge number of college students but it seemed, like Maggie, she had learned to just agree with him, even if she did not particularly like it. She glanced down at her lap but then back up at him, her eyebrows arched in an apprehensive sort of way.

"So…what do I have to do?" she asked, more than likely hoping Joker would keep her involvement in the dorm-bombings to a minimum. Fortunately, he leaned forward, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer until she could practically lay down against him.

"All you have to do is look sexy and drive the Escalade…" he answered as though this were the simplest task in the world. He went on to add, "-And not get me or Tre killed or worse, arrested."

A few hours later, Jayde lay on her back in the middle of the Joker's bed, staring up at the ceiling, listening to the rushing water as he showered in the bathroom just beyond his room. Surprisingly, even after accompanying the Joker to do some pretty heinous activities, Jayde could not force the thought of anyone murdering nearly a thousand young college students from her mind. She could not help feeling that her immortal soul was truly at stake this time and she was_ really _pushing her luck by going anywhere with the Joker out in public after their experience the previous night. But then again, Joker, Tre and Dotcom seemed incredibly skilled at what they did and seemed to have progressed to the point where they would go out of their way to help or protect her. And as far as she remembered, she had chosen to stay with him, even after he had given her the option to leave. So now, with the crescendo of Joker's elaborate plan upon them, Jayde reminded herself of what Maggie had told her about having a 'good man' and took a deep breath, deciding that the next day in its entirety, could more than likely decide the fate of their relationship…or whatever it was they called it.

A/N: Alright, boys n gals, once again, I am terribly sorry for the wait! And I realize this is a somewhat short chapter, but like I've been saying- we are terribly close to the end! In fact, the next two chapters I put out will be ending 1 and ending 2. I will be writing them back to back in order to post them simultaneously so there may be a bit of a wait involved again this time, being that I have two full (and they will be long) chapters to write. So hold on tight, we're almost done! I only got two email addresses for the contest! Send me those pen names people. If I don't get at least five people to participate, the contest is off and that _drastically _reduces the chances for a third installment of the JnJ series. SO LET ME SEE THOSE EMAILS AND REVIEWS! LEAVE ME YOUR LOVE/HATE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO READ THE ENDINGS! –QoM = ]

Oh, and RIP Amy Winehouse. = [


	36. Tragedy

**Ok, guys- welcome to the beginning of the end(s)! The following chapters are both _incredibly _long so, grab a drink n some popcorn and buckle up!**

Movement against the bed next to Jayde woke her abruptly the following morning, forcing her groggy eyes open into tiny slits and she blinked several times, ridding herself of the itchiness to see what had disturbed her. At some point, she had turned onto her side facing the wall with her back to the Joker, so now, rolling over, she noticed his vague form moving past the bed toward the other side of the dark room, clearly doing everything in his power to stay quiet. Her lips were somewhat dry so she licked them as she opened her mouth to speak, her voice rather hoarse with sleepiness.

"You leaving?" she asked softly, turning to face him with just the upper half of her body when he slinked back over to the edge of the bed and leaned over it, supporting himself with both his hands.

"Yeah, go back to sleep," he answered quietly, kissing her temple heavily before he stood back up. "Big day today." Jayde nodded an understanding, rolling over to face his side of the bed when he moved to walk back over to the door. Her eyes slid closed a second later.

"Please be safe," she called gently after him, forcing herself to keep her eyes shut even when she heard him pause on the threshold of the door.

Across the room, Joker hesitated before he left, his hand on the frame, his eyes focused down at the carpet as a new, deep scowl attacked his handsome yet scarred face. Without turning back to the bed, he asked, "Why?" He heard her take a deep, sleepy breath in through her nose before she exhaled heavily.

"'Cause I dunno what I'd do without you," she answered honestly, her eyes still closed. The moment the words left her mouth, Jayde felt a stab of regret, knowing Joker had probably taken this the wrong way. It sounded sickeningly romantic when Jayde had been perfectly serious. She was _wanted _now; she truly had no idea what she would do if something were to happen to him. On the other side of the room, Jayde heard Joker exhale through his nose before his powerful energy left the room and door closed quietly behind him.

The Joker had long since left the house and yet Jayde could not force herself back to sleep. Her ears and imagination followed him through the house and out into the garage, the slight bang of the door signifying his departure and although he had instructed her to go back to sleep and rest, she could not keep her eyes closed when such a daunting task was upon them for the evening. She wanted to wonder what he was doing, leaving the house in normal clothing without his greasepaint on, at nine o'clock in the morning, but then again, it was not really any of her business. Presumably, Tre had gone with him, so this left Jayde with a slightly more comforted feeling. For some reason, she felt more at ease with Joker being out and about when his best friend was with him. They seemed to be an unstoppable team and although Joker was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, something about Tre's presence seemed to keep him more grounded and rational, less spontaneous…Over her time of knowing him, Jayde had learned that spontaneity was one of the Joker's more dangerous attributes; she liked that Tre tried to keep that in check.

So after pulling the blankets up on Joker's bed, Jayde made her way down to her room to change her clothes, wash her face and brush her teeth before she went down and joined Dotcom in the kitchen, where he stood at his favorite spot, reading the newspaper. He looked up from his mug of fresh coffee as she approached, only to grin and watch her as she walked over to the cabinets to prepare her own cup, but then laughed when she tilted it slightly to double check that nothing had been painted on the inside. She rolled her eyes as she poured coffee into it once assured it was clean.

"I will never skip a day without checking this mug ever again," she told him, grinning to herself before she took a sip and turned to face him. "Where did they go anyway?" she then asked, leaning against the counter opposite him as he set down the newspaper and sighed.

"He didn't say," he answered, taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "Just said he would be back around four or so." Jayde rolled her eyes with a slight shake of her head.

"Of course," she grumbled but then nodded her head toward the glass doors leading out onto the patio. "Let's go have a cigarette."

Dotcom and Jayde's normal pattern of watching HGTV for an hour or two, then have a cigarette continued for a little while that morning but then had to be put on hold while Dotcom went to his 'command central' to help Joker after he had received a phone call. Most of Jayde dearly wanted to go with him and find out what was happening but when she suggested this to Dotcom, he had given her a sympathetic look before hesitantly informing her Joker had forbidden it. Against her will, she had huffed like an irritated child and folded her arms, glaring at the tv without really seeing it.

For most of the remainder of the afternoon, Dotcom remained in his room on the computer, leaving Jayde to her own devices to keep herself entertained. The Animal Planet held it mildly for about an hour before she distracted herself by beginning to plait tiny braids into her hair as she sat there on the couch. But fortunately, by the time she had tangled her frizzy curls into considerable knots, the garage door was being flung open at around quarter to four.

As usual, Joker marched in ahead of Tre, pushing his hair away from his face as he walked into his house, glancing over at Jayde on the couch, only to ignore her at first as he seemed to have forgotten something in the car. He nudged Tre on the arm as he walked back out into the garage, motioning for him to follow. Jayde sat up, watching interestedly as they disappeared, but only to return a full minute later, holding either end of a long, heavy-looking metal pipe…a rocket launcher. Jayde's mouth fell open as they walked it over and set it on the dining table with a heavy thud, as though they had just run out to a gallery for a particularly destructive piece of art. Rising onto her knees, she leaned on the back of the couch, staring over with curious, interested eyes.

"What is _that?" _ she asked enthusiastically, but jumped when both Joker and Tre yelled 'JINX!' at each other, then immediately started arguing.

"Ah! I was firs-!"

"No way, bruh. That was ya boy-"

"Bullshit! I said it way before-"

Jayde's eyebrows practically met in the middle of her forehead before they seemed to notice her confusion and Joker looked over, laughing as Tre walked away scowling.

"Tre and I started a game where we say 'jinx' every time you ask something like that." He explained as though this would not offend her. "First person to say it gets to punch the loser, so…C'_mere_, Tre…" Joker then called to his best friend as though calling a puppy but Tre was already stepping outside to light a cigarette and rolling his eyes as he went. With another huff of irritation, Jayde turned back to the tv, hoping to indicate to Joker she was slightly offended by this new game. He laughed, trotting over to hop the back of the couch and land next to her heavily, bouncing both of them up and down a few times before he patted the side of her head heavily. "Aw, Jayde, don't be a spoil-sport. We have fun at your expense, what's wrong with that?" he asked innocently, although the grin on his face suggested his question was everything but harmless. She rolled her eyes as she stared pointedly at the tv. Joker seemed to notice her mood and moved past it hastily, wanting nothing to ruin his excited and up-beat attitude. "Damn, girl, you gonna kiss ya man, or what?" he then asked with a growl.

Next to him, Jayde seemed to be debating on whether or not to do it but seemed to think better of refusing him so after a few seconds, she leaned over quickly and pecked him on the cheek before she went back to glaring at the tv. However, Joker let out a low, crazy-sounding laugh before he reached over and grabbed her face roughly, forcing it toward him so he could kiss her lips hard, laughing again when she resisted, smacking her hand against his chest until he let her go. She groaned when his arm wrapped around her shoulders, once again forcing her close to him as he pet the top of her head with the palm of his hand, using much more force than necessary.

"Ah, Jayde, I'm happy to see you too, dear."

For the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, Joker did everything in his power to annoy Jayde and everyone else in the house, obviously out of need for an outlet in which to channel his pent-up, excited energy. Dotcom had retreated into his bedroom once the gay jokes started flying, Tre was doing a fairly good job of handling it while poor Jayde was at the mercy of Joker's taunting, at least until he decided he needed to take a shower and 'put his face on', at around eight o'clock. At one point earlier, he had calmed down enough to ask her if her camo pants and black shirts were clean and since they were not, he had told her to go and wash them. So after switching them over from the wash to the dryer, she ventured upstairs and down to her bedroom to copy Joker and shower as well.

Nearly an hour later, Jayde had just finished changing into her camouflage pants and long sleeved black shirt when she heard the sound of a bedroom door closing from down the hall. At first, she listened, pausing while she scrunched mousse into her hair, hoping it was Joker and that he was about to come into her room, as long as he wasn't still being obnoxious. A few moments later, she took a step out of the bathroom when she heard someone step into her room, but already, from the energy and the calm presence, she knew it was Dotcom without even looking. He was smiling and Jayde returned it but could not help the slightly disappointed feeling that overcame her when she figured Joker left and was sending Dotcom to relay information, as usual.

"Let me guess," she began, walking back into the bathroom to finish her hair. "He already left and wants you to tell me…" Surprisingly, Dotcom shook his head, smiling somewhat sheepishly.

"No, he's still here, I just wanted to come and hide," he explained, sitting on her bed. "The gay jokes are already getting old…It's a good thing-…" he started to say something but cut himself off, pulling his attention away from watching her to stare over at something else. Jayde noticed this but did not comment, figuring whatever it was he had been about to say would have revealed something about future plans. A moment later, both jumped when Joker's loud, biting shout called her name from downstairs.

"JAYDE!"

She sighed, rolling her eyes at Dotcom as she passed him to step out onto the landing, fighting hard not to smile when she spotted Joker standing downstairs, surprisingly in camouflage and a black t-shirt. Her eyebrows furrowed but Joker seemed to predict her question and carried on, giving instruction. His energy had changed drastically since putting on his greasepaint makeup, adding to his newly daunting demeanor.

"You are to leave the house at ten-thirty, not a minute later, and meet us about a half-mile from the dorms." He told her firmly, no trace of a grin anywhere on his face, even though his curved, red-painted scars gave the illusion of a not-so-friendly smile. "The address and directions are already in the GPS. Follow that then page me on the radio once you reach the intersection of Fifth and Main." At this, Jayde opened her mouth to ask '_what _radio?', but once again, Joker cut across her, holding up a finger. "It's in the center console in the Escalade." He paused, his dark, black-ringed eyes focused on hers intently. "Do you understand?"

Without hesitation, Jayde responded, "Yes." And with that, Joker turned to stride across to the garage door and disappeared beyond it, without so much as a look over his shoulder.

Ten miles down the road, with Tre driving the newly painted and mildly reinforced police cruiser once belonging to Detective Mitchell, Joker pulled his small walkie-talkie from his pocket, switching the dial to the first channel.

"Team one, are you in place?" he growled into it, his hyper vigilant eyes scanning the passing road and fields for movement. A soft 'csh' came from the radio before a quiet reply.

"Yeah, boss, house number one has been taken care of, but we got to house number two and…someone painted blood over the door." Came the voice of team one's leader. Joker's eyebrows furrowed as he continued to catch every ounce of movement around him with his eyes. The black makeup aided his already superior night vision.

"Is it blood or red paint?" he then asked after his quick mind had processed the information to a certain point. His predatory instincts were kicking into overdrive; it had been a while since he had pulled off a stunt of this caliber and it was calling on every single second of training he had put himself through.

The voice answered, "blood."

Joker nodded, smirking to himself. "_Ah, _looks like someone's been reading their Bible." He growled. "Leave the house alone. Any others with blood on or over the door are to be left alone. When you've finished the third house, hide and wait for instruction. Zero hour in two."

After being assured by team one that his orders would be obeyed, Joker switched the radio to the next channel, glancing over at Tre as he drove, scowling determinedly. It seemed he was feeding off of Joker's energy and was feeling just as anxious and pent-up as he was. Joker shook his head. "People never fail to astound me, Tre," he commented but did not continue and instead went on to the next channel to get updates on the other two teams and to give the information concerning the blood on the doors. Joker believed strongly that the people who had actually done their 'homework' or were smart enough to connect the Biblical occurrence of the first Passover to his plan deserved to have their child live, as it was in the scripture. If he was going to play God, he was going to do it the right way.

At ten-thirty, and not a minute later, Jayde slowly pulled the Escalade from the garage, wishing desperately that it had been in the Joker's plan for Dotcom to ride with her, however, he had been specifically instructed to drive the limousine and to leave ten minutes before Jayde. She was not sure why yet, but something about this night had the same sort of foreboding energy she had noticed a few nights ago when she and Joker had been practically hunted by Mancino Cellini's thugs. It could have simply been the fact that she was alone again, driving the Escalade, that was making her somewhat nervous but as always, and more frequently lately, Jayde reminded herself that Joker was very good at what he did and would make it difficult, near impossible for something to go wrong.

With the GPS system giving her instructions, Jayde found it relatively easy to find the specific building Joker had been talking about, although getting there took nearly a half hour with the curvy and back road-hugging directions. From living in Gotham for nearly two years now, Jayde knew the intersection Joker had specified was coming up but as she approached, she felt her heart leap up into her throat when she noticed a half-dozen police cars with their lights on, accompanied by an ambulance, emergency response team and fire truck out in the middle of the intersection. The light before Fifth and Main had just turned red so she stopped, straining her eyes to the next block where she finally noticed the police officers and paramedics standing out in the street, talking, their eyes lifted, looking at something apparently hanging from the traffic light, suspended by a thick metal pole, jutting out over the street. Up ahead someone was directing the sparse traffic to go around and as the light turned green, Jayde's heart began to race as she forced the Escalade closer to the line of police cruisers. However, once close enough, her eyes finally could make out what the commotion was about and Jayde's heart stopped dead in her chest- The Joker, dressed in purple suit and full makeup was swinging, hung by the neck from the traffic light, his lifeless body swaying slightly as it was brought down to the street by a team of firemen.

Jayde's mind and body flew into near blindness as her vision dimmed slightly in shock, making it almost impossible to keep driving and turn left as the police officer directing traffic diverted the few cars to the next street. Heavy, breathless sobs began to wrack her body as she pulled off into an alley once she had sped away from the intersection and she put the heavy SUV in park before shaking, numb hands fumbled around blindly for a radio or phone, anything she could use to call Dotcom or Tre and find out what had gone so horribly wrong so early in the night. This seemed so unreal to her and Jayde was just beginning to wonder how he had changed his clothes from the camo and black to his purple suit when a soft 'CSH' sounded, catching her attention from between the seats, muffled by the heavy lid to the center console. A moment later, a familiar voice caused her heart to leap forcefully and start up again as she searched hastily for the device.

"Jayde, where are you?" came the voice of the Joker just as she found the small radio and she pressed the side of it, her voice shaking as she shouted.

"I thought you were dead!" she practically screamed into it, her hands continuing to tremble as she held the walkie-talkie up to her mouth. "What the fuc-" she began to go on but jumped with a startled squeak when a knock on the passenger window pulled her attention to it, where she could barely see the glint of Dotcom's glasses through the heavily tinted window. Joker's voice came through the radio again, calmly.

"Get out, lock the car and follow Dotcom. I put your gun and knife into the center console so grab those too." He instructed quickly, giving Jayde no further time to sit there and berate him for faking his own death and not giving her warning. Without hesitation, after locating the small black handgun and switch blade knife, Jayde climbed out of the Escalade, locking it and stowing her weapons into the large cargo pockets of her pants before she followed Dotcom.

Being that the police were so close, literally just up the street from them, Jayde felt the need to stay silent and walk as stealthily as possible while she followed Dotcom into a back entrance to the tall, run-down building, up a metal flight of stairs, climbing several stories before they reached the appropriate level and exited the stairwell. This led them into a dingy, completely dark hallway lined on either side with closed doors, all of which seemed condemned and some even padlocked shut. Finally, near the end of the hall, Dotcom turned right into a large, high-ceiling room with Jayde on his heels although the moment she spotted the Joker, smiling from the other side of the room with his hands behind his back, she shifted modes and stormed across the room toward him. He seemed to sense her next action and took a step back as she closed in, reaching out to push him as hard as she could with her hands against his chest.

"You couldn't have warned me you were going to 'kill yourself'?" she asked loudly, slapping him girlishly as he laughed, holding up his arm to fend off her attack.

"And miss this reaction? No way!" he answered, shaking his head as he finally took control and wrapped his arm around her, holding her next to him as he turned back to the window, pointing down at the intersection where the police and EMT's continued to direct traffic away from 'the Joker's dead body'. "I needed a decoy," he explained quietly now, glancing down at her face as intrigue began to dawn over her features. "I needed them distracted while I destroy lives." He then growled, leaning down slightly to reach into his pocket and pull a small, blinking detonator from it's depths. At this, Joker paused, grinning down at Jayde as his eyebrows bounced once. "But that was pretty convincing, eh? Looked just like me, didn't he…"

Beside him, Jayde finally exhaled, relieved to be standing next to him, alive. She nodded, resting her head against his shoulder in submission a moment later. "Yeah, it did…" she answered, simply to appease his question and agree that his idea had been rather genius, albeit momentarily horrifying. Of course, Jayde wanted to turn to face him and kiss him deeply, almost in an effort to double-check that he really was alive but Joker was in business-mode so Jayde had to respect his space for the time being; there would be plenty of time for that, later. Joker released his hold on her shoulders and turned to the room, looking along the windows to Tre and Dotcom, who were both watching the commotion down on the street below.

"_Now," _he began, walking away from the windows, over to a duffle bag laying on the dusty, wooden floor. "We've got about thirty minutes before the dorms go up. Jayde?" he then asked her name, waiting until her full attention was on him before he continued. Her eyebrows raised as her insides gave a small quiver. "I need you to go back downstairs and get me an update on what people are saying down there. It looks like there's a crowd growing and I want to know what the word is, for instance if they actually believe it's me." Through these instructions, Jayde could feel a tiny sense of panic begin to work itself up in her and the moment Joker finished speaking, she piped up, about to ask why Tre or Dotcom couldn't go do it. Once again, it seemed as though Joker had mastered the ability to read her mind. He shook his head, pointing at the door. "Ah," he corrected her tersely. "Go. Be back here within ten minutes."

Finally, Jayde crossed the room to the door, glancing over her shoulder once or twice like a dog with it's tail tucked between it's legs, but Joker did not change his stance or offer any sort of encouragement. He simply watched, scowling, until she had left the room completely and he could hear her boots as she retreated down the hallway. Turning his back to the room, he stared down at the intersection again, leaning over slightly to rest his hands on the pane of the huge, dusty window.

"You want me to follow her?" Dotcom offered from behind him somewhat hesitantly, glancing at Tre but Joker was already shaking his head, his gaze focused on one of the police officers he recognized as a stubborn man named Taylor.

"No." He answered, his voice even and quiet, putting an immediate end to Dotcom's questioning of his intentions. A second later, his imagination quickly forced him to envision Jayde walking out onto the street, only for the officers to recognize her and immediately usher her into one of the cruisers but he pushed this away from his mind forcefully. Jayde was one of the smartest people he knew; if she could not handle a simple task like keeping her head down and simply listening, then she was not as valuable to his efforts as he had originally estimated.

Downstairs, at the street level, Jayde was just walking past the Escalade and out onto the sidewalk when she forced herself to take a deep, steadying breath, reminding herself that Joker had obviously given her this task because he felt she could handle it; she would do well to see this through to completion. As she walked, her heart rate increased slightly but with every step she took, she could feel her knife and gun hitting gently against the side of her leg, reassuring her that they would be right there if anything happened. Several passers by were up ahead of her as she walked toward the intersection but being that she was still several feet behind them, she could not make out anything they were saying until they stopped walking at the back of a rapidly growing crowd of onlookers.

Apparently, by this time, the officers and firemen had gotten the body down from the traffic light and were just zipping up a long black bag that now contained the supposed body of the Joker. Being that Jayde was so short, she could not see much around the taller men and women in front of her so she waited, shifting her weight back and forth between her two feet, growing more and more anxious by the second. Finally, a few words became distinguishable as she stepped up closer behind a younger couple.

"They don't think it's him." the young man was telling his girlfriend, rising onto his toes to try and see to the front of the crowd where a police officer was now ushering people away. It seemed he could hear what the rest of the people were saying and was reiterating it to the girl next to him. "He said the scars are too fresh to be the Joker…think it's a decoy." So distracted by listening, Jayde was not quick enough to notice everyone in front of her turning to begin walking away down Main street so the moment the young man in front of her turned, she found herself unable to move and instantly froze. She let out a nervous laugh as the man stumbled a bit, completely unaware that someone had been standing behind him.

"Oh, sorry." She mumbled, turning immediately to begin walking away, only to feel her heart start racing when the man called after her.

"Hey, wait! Aren't you that girl?…The one that's been missing?" he asked of her back, but Jayde kept walking, sliding her hand into her pocket when she felt and heard him advancing behind her. She shook her head quickly.

"No, I don't know what-…" she began to say but the guy had already caught up and was trotting up alongside her.

"No, yeah you are! You're that barista he abducted! Everyone's been looking for you!" he cried much too loudly for her taste and Jayde was about to take off running in full panic-mode when the stranger reached out and grabbed her arm at the elbow, forcing her to stand still. Then, as though instinct had kicked in, Jayde spun rapidly and slashed out with her knife, cutting deep into the man's forearm with one quick movement. He shouted in pain, releasing his grip on her immediately as he took a staggered step backward in shock, gripping his bleeding arm while Jayde took off sprinting.

Behind her, as she ran, Jayde could hear the man screaming that some 'crazy bitch' had just stabbed him but this was all barely audible beneath the sound of her racing heartbeat as she tore past the alley with the Escalade, past the one after it, to the second one down where she hooked an immediate right, ignoring everything around her as her survival instincts now kicked in. In the middle of the alley, another long path ran between the buildings, forming an intersection at each of the dingy alleyways. Here, she stopped, her chest heaving although she had not been running for long at all. Panic and fear were beginning to take a firm hold of her, but Jayde forced herself to remember the calm, clear way Joker handled situations like this and she imitated him, slowing down long enough to think through her next move.

Fortunately, the alley was completely pitch dark and she had just come upon a small nook between a door and the brick wall, just wide enough for her to slide into it and listen to the commotion on the far street. It seemed some of the crowd had dispersed but Jayde could still hear the loud, angry voice of the man she had cut, verbally replaying what happened to the people who had stopped to help him.

"I think she went down there, I don't know, I didn't see," she could hear him say and from where she stood, Jayde could hear a few people walking past the alley on the sidewalk. Turning her head, Jayde looked down the rest of the tiny space to see where it led to and luckily, it seemed to lead backwards to the other alley she had just passed. So after pausing to take a deep, steadying breath, she began moving as quickly and yet quietly as she could along the narrow space, ignoring all the garbage and squeaking rats as she went. At the end of the space, she leaned out slightly, glancing both ways but only to pull back quickly when a few people walked past the mouth of the alley on the sidewalk, moving north toward the alley she had just left. So after waiting for five seconds, she ran across to the intersecting path and kept going until she saw the Escalade and the door to the building. It seemed, by then, the crowd of people now looking for her had moved on down the street so she rushed over to the front end of the SUV, ducking down slightly to look in all directions.

Upstairs, Joker had just made his fifth pass by the windows, bristling with anger and anxiousness as he glanced at his watch again. A solid twenty minutes had passed since Jayde had left the room, leaving Joker to start coming up with all sorts of scenarios for her tardiness. Had she been caught, or worse, hurt? _Killed, _even? Had Celini's thugs caught up with her? Had she been recognized? All of this he was wondering to himself, ignoring the nervous glances Dotcom kept shooting toward the door every few seconds, trying to keep himself calm and not allow himself to go tearing from the room, down the stairs and out onto the street, giving away his location. He had not predicted how hard it would be to sacrifice Jayde for his own freedom and was about three seconds from going after her when the sound of running, heavy footsteps reached them from out in the hall. In perfect sync, the Joker and his two closest henchmen pulled their guns from behind their backs, arming them to aim at the doorway, preparing to shoot if anyone besides Jayde came into the frame.

However, a second later, Jayde suddenly appeared, only to scream and duck when she saw three guns pointed directly at her. A panicked sob left her as she stepped out of the way, back out into the hallway although Joker, Tre and Dotcom had already dropped their guns. Joker was the first to walk over, gritting his teeth angrily as he went. He reached out, grabbing her arm in a tight grip, only to yank her into the room and push her up against the wall, taking out his relief at her safety in the form of bristling, itchy anger, which was a much easier emotion for him to convey. Luckily, Jayde was not crying but he could feel her entire body trembling as she cowered from his rage.

"What part of 'ten minutes' did you _not _understand?" he growled threateningly, leaning down slightly as she flinched at his tone, dropping something from her hand to the floor with a loud thud. When she seemed unable to answer from lack of breath, he shook her slightly, baring his teeth as she took deep, shaky breaths in.

"I-I…stabbed…he knew-…it was…me," she answered incoherently, her eyes squeezed shut as Joker towered over her. However, a moment later, his grip relaxed ever so slightly and his back straightened out as he took a half-step backward, pulling her further into the room. Joker had no idea what she meant and was starting to realize that whatever energy and anger he was conveying was not helping at all to calm her down and he looked behind him to Dotcom and Tre desperately for help. Dotcom walked over, reaching out to pull Joker's tight grip away from her arm forcefully, moving forward a moment later to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"Jayde," he said calmly, showing Joker how it was done. "Tell us what happened. You're safe now." He reassured her, glancing up at the boss. By then, Tre walked over and stood next to the Joker, a look of genuine concern falling onto his face as he shared his cool, collected energy with his best friend by placing his hand bracingly at the top of his far shoulder. Immediately, Joker felt himself relax. In front of them, Jayde took a deep breath in.

"This-…guy was telling this girl about how the cops think it isn't you since the scars are…so fresh and-…" she took a deep breath. "The cops were making everyone go away and when the guy turned around…he saw me and…knew who I was and…started getting loud about it and…" she took another deep breath in, her eyes locking onto the Joker's as his gaze finally softened. "I cut him," she finally ended, holding out her right hand to show a fair amount of already dried blood on her palm, probably from holding her knife. At this, Joker took a deep breath, reaching out, past Dotcom to wrap both of his arms around Jayde and hold her tight for a moment or two, completely ignoring the fact that both Tre and Dotcom were standing right there, watching. He felt her trembling subside slightly as he pulled back, bringing up both of his hands to either side of her neck and tilt her face up toward him, staring directly into her eyes when he realized that this was exactly what she needed.

"Are you ok?" he asked, his gaze bouncing back and forth between her wide eyes a few times before she nodded, sniffing slightly as her breath finally caught up with her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered confidently, looking to Tre as he checked his watch.

"Ay, it's five till zero, bruh." He informed him quietly, only for Joker to tear his attention away from Jayde after he had reached down to grab her clean hand. It seemed all the recent commotion had torn his attention from the situation at hand and even dampened his excitement a little but now assured that Jayde was alright, he walked back toward the windows, glancing down at the police cars on the street below them with a sinister grin. A second later, he let out a loud, excited 'WOO!', clapping his hands together once, in an effort to get himself pumped back up for the explosion and the murdering of all those delightful firstborns. Beside him, Jayde was recovering well and was smiling to herself at his ability to switch back and forth between emotions, obviously feeling vastly more at ease in comparison to sixty seconds prior. His arm rested around her shoulders as his other hand dug into his pocket to retrieve that detonator.

The entire room began to buzz with the familiar, malicious energy emanating from the Joker as he glanced at his watch before flipping open the tiny plastic latch that protected the blinking blue button from accidentally being pressed. Jayde looked down at the police and firemen on the street below as they started to clear out, wondering if they had any idea what was coming or if they could feel the same foreboding sensation she was. On the other side of the Joker, Tre had just come around and was clapping him on the back, between his shoulder blades, sharing a laugh with him as Joker looked over.

"You ready to see pigs fly, brother?" Joker asked him, grinning when Tre laughed again, tossing his head back.

"Always, my friend." He answered.

And with that, Joker's thumb pressed down on the blue button, turning it to red only for two seconds to pass before the entire building trembled with the force of a massive explosion. Jayde's hands clamped down hard over her ears as the shock wave traveled along the street, sounding remarkably close to a sonic boom. Out in the distance, a great ball of flames and light drifted up into the sky, the force of the explosion knocking several of the police officers on the street to their knees or onto their backs. The sound of Joker's hysterical laughter seemed muffled from outside Jayde's hands over her ears but as she lowered them, she could not help but laugh as he bounced where he stood, smacking his open hand against the window.

Down on the street below them, the officers and firemen flew into action, jumping into their cars, shouting orders at each other frantically, obviously caught highly off guard by this explosion. It seemed more than likely that they had no idea what had been blown up but Jayde figured there was already emergency response teams on their way to the smoldering rubble that used to be the dormitories at Gotham University. As much as Jayde wanted to feel sorry and even a bit guilty for all the young lives lost just moments ago, Joker's laughter and truly excited energy was extremely contagious and she found herself laughing along with him as he clutched at a stitch in his side, bracing himself against Tre.

"WOW!" he exclaimed, taking a step away from the windows. "Did you guys see those piggies fly? That was _unreal! _I've never seen them move so fast!"

It seemed the more wound up the Joker was, the more quickly he could switch back and forth between emotions and within seconds, he was back in business-mode, striding over to the center of the room to grab that black duffle bag and start heading toward the door. Tre and Dotcom followed without question, cueing Jayde to follow as well, pausing to pick up her recently used knife before she trotted out into the hallway behind them. Joker was giving off instructions again, his stride long and determined as he led his team to the stairs.

"Dotcom, we're leaving the cruiser and the truck where they are for the night," he told the nerd first. "We're gonna take the Escalade to Gordon's and I want you to drive. Jayde," he then turned his attention to hers as they trotted down the stairs quietly and quickly. She looked down to him as he reached up, handing her a bottle of water. "Use this to wash off your hand. Tre?"

"Whaddup,"

"…You stay bein' black."

"Check."

Once downstairs in the Escalade, and once Jayde had obeyed Joker by rinsing her hands and wiping them on her camouflage pants, she sat in the front seat next to Dotcom as Tre and Joker sat in the two middle seats. By now, Joker had begun to dig through that black duffle until he found the object of his search, another tiny detonator, complete with another blinking blue button. Jayde was just wondering where on earth he managed to acquire all of these explosives and detonators and even more inexplicably, how he managed to wire the police commissioners house with them when Joker turned to Tre.

"I hope this thing goes off after all that trouble we had this morning with the fuses," he was grumbling, his knee about to bounce a hole into the floor of the SUV. Tre nodded his agreement.

"I just can't believe Tweak tried to dick us over on that weak-ass supply. It's a good thing we caught him."

It seemed Dotcom knew exactly where he was supposed to be taking them and pulled off to the side of the road after about twenty minutes, right alongside a row of dark houses, parking the massive Escalade in between two smaller cars against the curb. Jayde couldn't help but notice how quaint these homes were, seemingly elevated from the ground by dark wooden supports, lifted above car ports and small driveways. It seemed the inhabitants of this row of homes had already turned in for the evening, being that it was rapidly nearing one in the morning and either had not heard the explosion or were already watching the news about the 'attack'. In the two middle seats behind Jayde and Dotcom, Joker and Tre were still talking.

"Alright, we're gonna get out and walk over to that alley across the street from Gordon's place, about fifty feet up the street. Dotcom, keep it running 'cause we're coming right back. As soon as the three of us are back, you're gonna pull down that side street over there and take us back home. Then it's time for one last smoke at the house, capiche?" he asked everyone but Jayde was frowning from her place in the passenger seat.

"Am I coming with you guys?" she asked, turning in the seat to look back at Joker and Tre as they glanced at each other as if waiting to see if the other was about to say 'jinx'. Luckily, they refrained and Joker nodded, opening his door.

"_Yes, _you're coming with us." He answered patiently with an obvious amount of effort, but then nodded toward the street outside. "Now let's go!" he then added like a warrior leading his troops into battle. Jayde rolled her eyes at Dotcom with a grin, excited to get all this over with so they could go home and celebrate.

Out on the street, Jayde followed Joker and Tre as they trotted across to the far sidewalk, slinking along vigilantly along a dirty, white wall, glancing in all directions. Their path and the street beside them seemed perfectly quiet and empty of cars, making their journey into the alley exceptionally easy this time. Jayde followed the two boys into the mouth of the narrow alley, wishing privately to herself that all of their expeditions went this smoothly and she was just about to voice this to Joker when he pulled that small detonator from his pocket, flipping open the plastic latch like he had just done twenty minutes prior. However, before he could press the button, he paused, lifting his eyes to look down at Jayde when he must have felt her watching him, waiting on tenterhooks for his next move. His scar twitched into a smirk as he leaned down slightly.

"Kiss me, fool," he instructed, his smirk expanding into a full grin when she leaned into him, obeying with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever, kissing him gently yet firmly. He grunted a laugh against her lips, returning the kiss but shifted to the side when Tre pushed him.

"Ay, c'mon, bruh, I wanna go home. Let's get this over with," he grumbled, nodding toward the house as Jayde blushed and Joker glared at him, but Tre continued to ramble under his breath in that characteristic way as he watched the Gordon's dark home. "-Think I'm foolin' witchu…Ova' here _smoochin _n' shit, tryna blow up somebody house…"

Finally, Joker rolled his eyes, turning to face the street, pressing his thumb down onto the button. Jayde watched, expecting the light to turn from blue to red like it always did, however, this time, the light remained firmly blue and ceased it's blinking; the house remained in tact. Looking up at him, Jayde watched as Joker's eyebrows furrowed, wrinkling lines into his already creased and smeared greasepaint.

"Wha' happen?" Tre asked, leaning to the side to see around Joker's shoulder to the device. Confusion was obvious through every feature on Joker's face and his tongue clicked against his top teeth as he scowled from the detonator to the house across the street and back again.

"Uh…_Nothing, _I guess?" he answered, his voice raspy and slightly irritated. A moment later, he groaned, smacking the thing against his hand as if that would make it work. Again, nothing happened. At this, he swore loudly, tossing one hand at the perfectly in-tact home. "Those damn fuses, I swear Tweak fucked us over on these andit's not like we can go ask for a refund..." He growled. Behind them, Tre took a deep breath in.

"Well, I really wanna go home 'n get nice 'n fucked up so I'm gonna run over and put that one fuse back in place. I bet the wind just knocked it over again." He offered, taking a step forward to walk out of the alley, but Joker held out an arm, holding him back.

"You crazy?" he asked, his eyebrows arching sharply as Tre rolled his eyes.

"Nah, bruh, I'm just gonna go put it back in then when I come back, you gotta press the button again and it'll go up." He explained as though this were no big deal, although Joker did not seem convinced and kept his arm in place, scowling at Tre's animated features until he sighed, rolling his eyes. "We done this a thousand times, that shitty-ass fuse prolly fell out again. Imma go fix it."

Finally, Joker moved his arm, allowing Tre to trot out into the street, both he and Jayde watching as he glanced both ways, wisely, before he crossed over to the car port of the house, crouching slightly as he snuck past one of the family's cars. Looking to Joker next to her, Jayde watched as he glanced down at the detonator and her eyes followed, but only for her heart to stop completely when the light turned from blue to solid red. Her heart leapt up into her throat as Joker took a deep breath but his shout of Tre's name was lost in the rattling, earth-shaking explosion that followed.

Time seemed to stand still as Joker lunged forward, dropping the detonator to run toward the flaming, destroyed home and the ensuing, smaller explosions but Jayde, without stopping to think, reached out, wrapping her arms around his middle to hold him back with every ounce of strength she had. He fought against her at first, shouting, his words drowned out by the roar of the fire that had just engulfed the neighboring homes on either side of the no longer existent Gordon house. Somewhere over the past two seconds, tears had sprung to Jayde's eyes and she screamed at Joker, putting everything she had into keeping him from running across the street.

"STOP! JOKER! STOP!" she screamed so hard, her vocal cords felt moments from splitting in half. "WE HAVE TO LEAVE! HE'S GONE!"

It seemed Joker had flown into some sort of blind panic or rage as he threw her off of him with such force, she hit the wall behind her and fell to the ground but was immediately on her feet again, the adrenaline coursing through her making it impossible to feel pain at the moment. Her hand grabbed his wrist as he moved to run out into the street but once again, she put all of her weight into pulling him the opposite way, down the sidewalk, forcing him in a different direction. This time, he followed her, running beside her toward the Escalade. Once she felt like he would not run toward the fire, she released her hold on him at the side of the SUV, throwing open the door to climb in after him. Dotcom turned in his seat, his eyes wide.

"What happened?" he asked frantically, glancing at the passenger seat, expecting Tre to come bounding into the Escalade. "What about Tre?" Jayde shook her head.

"Drive!" she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks. When he hesitated, she smacked the back of his seat hard. "GO!"

Wasting no further time with questions, Dotcom turned the heavy SUV away from the curb, tearing down the street in the direction Joker had indicated before they had left, just minutes before. Jayde could feel her hands trembling violently, her heart racing as the rest of the adrenaline coursed through her veins, allowing a twinge of pain to register from where her back had collided with the sharp corner of the wall. She ignored this however as she cried as silently as possible, forcing herself not to look over to where Joker sat in the seat beside her, silent. She could not even imagine what he was going through but could not help but feel the slightest bit scared that he was severely close to losing it and using that gun she knew he had tucked into his pocket.

Fifteen minutes later, when he had neither moved nor made a noise, and the Escalade had reached the winding road, Jayde dared herself to look over at him, only to let out a quiet sob when she saw that he was leaned forward, his face buried into his hands. His entire body trembled violently, from the tips of his hair on down to his knees and although Jayde knew he was not about to speak, she could tell he was screaming at the top of his lungs on the inside, clearly unable to even process what had just happened. More tears came to her as the thought of this passed through her mind but she had just turned back to the window when Joker suddenly sat up.

"Pull over," he said, his voice gruff and low, yet commanding. Dotcom obeyed immediately, pulling the Escalade off to the right of the dirt road, but Joker was already opening the door before the wheels had even stopped. Jayde watched him get out and close the door behind him although it did not completely latch, leaving a tiny gap between the door and the car. A moment later, Jayde cringed, burying her face into her hands when both she and Dotcom heard Joker being violently sick outside the car. Glancing back and through the window, she saw the top half of his doubled-over back and she sobbed quietly as he heaved, bracing himself against the side of the Escalade. It seemed this was enough to start Dotcom's tears as well and he sniffed heavily several times as he forced his attention to stay on the road in front of them.

Before long, Joker got back into the car, silent and still trembling deeply and he took a deep breath once he sat, closing his eyes. By now, he seemed calm enough for Jayde to reach out and place her hand on his forearm as gently as possible, although the moment she made contact with him, he lashed out, throwing her hand away from him.

"Don't fucking touch me," he snapped, not even bothering to look at her before he turned his rage on Dotcom. "DRIVE, NOW."

Finally, back at the house, one member short, Dotcom and Jayde both hung back for a second to let Joker go ahead of them through the garage door, wary of getting too close to him like some wild, untamed animal. From a distance, Jayde watched as Joker stormed in, pacing back and forth a few times, combing his hand up into his hair in frustration before he spun suddenly and punched the wall so hard, his hand broke right through the plaster and formed a fist-sized hole. Jayde jumped, crumpling into more frightful tears while Dotcom went straight out onto the patio, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hands as he disappeared and closed the glass behind him as quietly as possible. Jayde watched, completely lost with what to do when Joker practically collapsed into a sitting position on the stairs, fisting his hands into the front of his hair as he leaned forward on his knees. Her tears were so numerous at this point, she could barely see through the hazy blur but as she approached her devastated, confused man, she reached out bravely, deciding that nothing, not even the threat of being seriously injured, could prevent her from trying to comfort him.

Moving deliberately and yet gently, Jayde walked over, sitting down next to him on the third to bottom step, hooking her arm beneath his to rest her head against his shoulder, praying beyond anything he would not push her away. At the contact, his entire body stiffened and for a moment, it seemed he was about to lash out again, but then miraculously, he stayed in place, patiently allowing her to sit beside him and hold his arm. Jayde was not surprised he wasn't crying as she knew he viewed it as the ultimate display of weakness, although from the way he was still trembling, it seemed he was putting all of his effort into keeping himself from it.

On the other hand, Jayde could not _stop _crying and did not care how weak it made her look. It seemed finally being this close to him made her emotions worse and she sobbed silently as she leaned against him, her eyes shut tight as he remained perfectly still, although his entire body continued to shake. His face was still painted with his old, partially sweated-through greasepaint but underneath, Jayde was positive he was just as white as the makeup, both from shock and grief but also from being so sick and upset on the way back. She hiccupped once or twice, forcing herself not to wrap her arms around him completely since he was already being patient and allowing her to feel like she was helping, although she was perfectly aware _nothing _could help at this point. She pressed her lips against the moistened shoulder of his shirt where her tears had already soaked through.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered against his shoulder. A second later, as though this had been the trigger, Joker stood abruptly from the stairs, from her grip on his arm, before he turned and walked up the rest of the steps without a word, silently walking down the hall to his room where he disappeared. A soft click signaled the lock of his door being clicked into place, forcing Jayde into more tears. Her face met her hands again but she looked up as she heard the glass door slide open and Dotcom stepped in, his glasses on the top of his head, his eyes red and puffy as he sniffed. Jayde's face crumpled into a fresh bout of tears as he approached and sat next to her on the stairs, wrapping his arm around her as they both cried.

Upstairs, in the Joker's bedroom, he stood in the middle of the room, breathing hard as though he had just run a marathon. The urge to be sick again was overwhelming but even worse, the urge to break down and flat out cry was even worse. His insides were quivering violently and before he could force himself out of it, he felt his body run into the bathroom where he fell to his knees in front of the toilet and threw up again, sobbing hard as he did so, his world turning upside down as unwanted tears spilled down his scarred cheeks. With nothing left in his stomach, he fell back onto the tile, letting out a short shout of anguish as he cried, too exhausted mentally and physically to hold back the tears any longer. His hands pulled hard at his hair, trying desperately to cause himself some sort of pain, to distract himself from the fact that he was crying, for what seemed like the first time in his life.

He stood up after a moment, his knees buckling slightly as he moved toward the sink, his chest heaving as sobs began to wrack his body more forcefully. Fumbling hands reached out for both knobs for the water, turning them so hard, one of them cracked and broke off completely. He barely noticed and held out his hands under the water, bringing it to his face to wash away the rest of his greasepaint, thinking that feeling some sort of liquid on his face might help confuse his body and make him stop crying. This was not the case.

Another loud sob left him when his mind tormented him by replaying the sensation that had shot through his body when that house exploded, killing his best friend and brother. He allowed some of the makeup to run in his eyes, welcoming the harsh stinging with open arms, again hoping to distract himself. Rising to his full height now, Joker did not bother to dry his face in an effort to confuse himself and camouflage his tears. He took several deep breaths, feeling dizzy and slightly disoriented. Shamefully, he allowed himself to wish Jayde was with him, honestly feeling the need to hold onto her start to creep up on him but he forced this back when he remembered his tears. He could _not _let her see him like this or she would never respect him again.

Out in his bedroom, once his tears had thankfully subsided a bit, Joker stumbled out of his boots and clothes, fumbling through one of the boxes of his clothes until he could find something comfortable to wear, even though he could have probably put on a tuxedo and barely even notice. His brain had seemingly gone into blank static and he was just trying to remember how to put on pajama pants when a soft knock on his door caused him to jump, his shot nerves putting him on edge. He straightened up, taking a deep breath when he thought of Jayde, more than likely still in tears on the other side of the door, not only from grief but also from the distance he was forcing her to keep with him. Seeing her crying would probably only make him start up again and since he had just managed to stop, he waited, staring at the back of his door. A moment later, she knocked again, lightly but Joker stayed in place, closing his eyes to fight the urge to go over and open it, let her come in and help him, comfort him, cry with him. He could _not _let her have that power.

Several long moments went by, without another knock, before Joker finally crossed to the door, figuring that seeing her now would be much easier than waiting until morning. But as he opened the door to reveal that no one was there, he leaned out to look down the hall, letting out a sigh when he noticed that the door to her bedroom was already closed, all the lights in the house already off. Ignoring the slight pang of disappointment that coursed through him, Joker stepped back into his room but looked down when something on the carpet in front of his door caught his attention- a glass of ice water.

When Jayde woke the next morning, she was not surprised when her entire body felt weak and extremely achy, her back clearly bruised in several places from where Joker had thrown her against the wall the previous night. She was the furthest thing from mad at him about that, however. After stopping in the bathroom to brush her teeth and ignore the dark circles and red puffiness to her eyes, Jayde stepped out onto the second landing, sighing heavily when she spotted Dotcom outside on the patio, leaned to the side with his head rested in his hand on the table. So after glancing down the hall to find the Joker's door still closed and more than likely locked, Jayde took a deep breath and headed down the stairs, hoping a cigarette would help.

On the porch, Dotcom looked up quickly when the glass slid open, apparently fearing it would be the Joker but he sighed when he saw it was Jayde and pushed his pack of cigarettes across the table to her when he noticed the vexed expression on her face. She plopped down into a chair across from him, willing herself not to start crying when she remembered how generous Tre had always been with his cigarettes and how he always greeted her the same way- 'Ay, girl'. Across the table, Dotcom was shaking his head slowly.

"I just can't believe-…" he began but cut himself off when his voice quivered and Jayde shook her head, closing her eyes as silence descended. A few moments later, she looked over at him.

"Has he been out of his room?" she asked, a tiny bit of panic flying to the back of her mind but luckily, Dotcom nodded somewhat solemnly.

"He came out for about five minutes earlier this morning at eight when I got up," he answered, shrugging his shoulders as he ashed his cigarette. "It looked like he hadn't been to sleep…He looked awful." Dotcom paused, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose from behind his glasses. "Did he let you see him at all last night?" It seemed, as Jayde's nose wrinkled, that this had been the wrong question to ask so Dotcom looked away pointedly and Jayde forewent an answer.

After finishing a cigarette and helping herself to a cup of coffee, Jayde went back up to her room, forcing herself not to glance at Joker's door as she went. For a few moments, upon entering her room, she considered turning on the tv, with the thought that it might help take her mind off things. But on second thought, her thoughts still reeling from the previous night and on how she could help Joker so instead of reaching out for the remote, she sat on end of her bed, folding her legs to lean forward and push her hands into her hair.

The silence in the house was deafening and heavy and Jayde was just noticing how much worse it made everything seem when she looked up, only for her stomach to flip over when the Joker stepped into her doorway. She sat up slightly, waiting for him to acknowledge her first although he seemed to be regretting his decision to be there and was debating on whether or not to walk away. His eyes had focused on the far post of her bed as he took a deep breath, sliding his hands into his back pockets as he turned to walk away, clearly not ready for conversation yet. Jayde watched him go at first, fighting against the warm tears that had sprung up but a second later, she bravely called after him.

"Joker," she said his name gently yet firmly. Surprisingly, he came back immediately, walking back into her room without hesitation as though he had been expecting this, only to step over and sit down next to her on the end of the bed, removing his hands to link them between his knees. He took another deep breath in as his gaze focused on the carpet before him. Jayde waited, taking a good, long look at him as he stared off dazedly. Dotcom had been right. He looked terrible, like he had not slept nor eaten and Jayde was positive it had taken a great deal of effort to force himself to drink that water she had gotten for him last night.

At some point, he had apparently showered and removed every trace of greasepaint from his face but had obviously been unable to wash away the dark rings under his eyes. Even the scars on either side of his face and the small wrinkles beside his eyes seemed deeper and droopier than normal and honestly, it looked as though he had aged several years since the previous night. Yet still, even through all this grief, Jayde couldn't help but notice how handsome she still found him.

For nearly five minutes, the two of them sat side by side in the silence together, not a word leaving them, nor even a movement. And as Jayde sat there, she began to feel somewhat hopeless and helpless that she could not do more to help him, although it was beginning to seem like this was the only sort of comfort he would take from her. Apparently just being next to him, allowing him to be reserved and silent was all the help he required. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, he took another deep breath, sitting up to blink a few times and look over at her, although he still avoided eye-contact. He stared at her knee as he spoke.

"I'm leaving," he stated, his voice flat and somewhat raspier than usual. Jayde was about to urge him on when he continued on his own. "-Gotham. I'm leaving Gotham today at six and…I don't think I'm comin' back." A huge knot formed itself using Jayde's insides but she again remained silent when it seemed like he was about to go on. However, when he did not after several long moments, she cleared her throat, hoping he wouldn't notice the tears in her voice.

"Where are you going?" she asked quietly, forcing herself not to jump to the conclusion that she was not invited yet. Beside her, Joker shrugged, shifting his gaze back to the carpet.

"Chicago," he eventually answered, shaking his head. "It was always part of the plan, to leave, but now-…" Jayde swallowed hard on the lump in her throat when Joker's voice cut off. From her experience with grieving, she knew it was always better to stay quiet and let the person continue on their own and luckily, after a few seconds, she noticed him swallow hard before he went on. "If you want to come with me, you can. If not, I-…" At this, Jayde spoke up, her eyebrows arching in confusion.

"Well, I kinda _have _to go with you…right?" she asked immediately, although her heart sank when Joker shook his head.

"The tape I made of you pretty much clears your name. Linman told me they all think you've been drugged this whole time or that…I've been forcing you to do all this." He paused, finally looking over to meet her eyes as he sat up straight. "…Which is why I did it-…so you could stay here if you wanted." After another pause, he shook his head, looking away for a few seconds before he met her eyes and Jayde couldn't help but notice how different and dull his normally sparkling, lively brown eyes appeared now. "They might question you but-…"

"I'm going with you," Jayde stated, cutting him off mid-sentence. Nothing, and she truly meant _nothing, _could prevent her from staying with him; he needed her now, more than ever, even though Jayde knew he would never _ever _admit that. Joker looked over, his gaze bouncing back and forth between her eyes several times before he stood up, nodding. His hands met his hips as he once again avoided her gaze, turning to look over at her closet.

"Fine," he answered, motioning toward her dresser. "I have boxes and bags for your stuff and I need you packed and ready by five." He stated flatly and then turned to leave the room, but Jayde had already stood up, reached out to take his wrist and she pulled him back to her, immediately wrapping her arms around his shoulders. As if he had known she was about to do this, Joker let his arms link together behind her back without missing a beat, sighing heavily as he let his face bury between her neck and shoulder while she did the same to him.

Jayde was absolutely positive he was only doing this to appease her but she could not have been more grateful for his patience and for several long moments, they stood there, leaned against each other for support, Joker forcing himself not to give in while he reluctantly allowed Jayde to sniffle against his shirt.

Hugging him turned out to be the easy part. Watching him walk away without a word was much harder to deal with but by now, Jayde was so tired of crying, she let him go, forcing herself to stay strong. It was obvious Joker was going to need all the unconditional support she could give him, even if it meant distancing herself from him for the first couple of days.

For most the afternoon, after getting several boxes and duffle bags from Joker, Jayde packed her clothes and belongings, making sure to double check all of her drawers in the dresser and bathroom. He had not been specific on where they would be staying in Chicago but Jayde was fairly certain it would not be a five star hotel and most definitely not Kieron and Tre's old house in the ghetto so she kept her mind open, reminding herself that it didn't matter where they went, as long as she was with him.

The last drawer to empty was the top most corner drawer, the one containing her jewelry box and other random items but as she lifted the small wooden box from it's place, her heart leapt when she remembered one specific necklace she had forgotten to wear. Placing it on the bed, she lifted the lid, revealing that one long, silver chain and small bullet charm the Joker had given her seemingly ages ago. Without hesitation, she pulled it out and placed it around her neck, tucking it down into her shirt where it lay against her chest, immediately taking warmth from her body. Her hand pressed over it as she took a deep breath. This would be her encouragement. When things got rough with Joker, and they most certainly were bound to be, she would feel this against her skin and remember how good things had been and give her hope.

A few hours later, Jayde ventured downstairs, eyeing the boxes and bags in the kitchen near the garage door, wondering if these were Joker's or Dotcom's. She was just wondering which car Dotcom would be taking and how he would be following them when the sliding glass door opened and he stepped inside, bringing his glasses to the bridge of his nose as Jayde looked over, smiling.

"I'm kinda glad we're leaving, aren't you?" she asked somewhat brightly, hoping to lighten the dampened mood in the house by keeping her energy positive. Dotcom nodded with a returned grin but Jayde felt her expression fall when she noticed how forced his smile seemed. Her heart sank. "You _are _coming with us, right?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly when she turned to face him completely and he stopped a few feet from her, fighting not to look at her. "_Right?" _

Finally, Dotcom forced his eyes to meet hers and more irritating tears sprang to action when she noticed his shifty, watery gaze. A second later, she closed the distance between them, throwing her arms around him to hug him tightly, sniffing heavily as he did the same. For several moments, they stood there until Jayde stepped back, laughing slightly as she wiped her eyes and Dotcom cleared his throat, chuckling somewhat awkwardly as well when they both noticed Joker up on the second landing, stepping out of his office. They both ignored him for the time being.

"So…" Jayde began. "Uh-…Where are you going then?" she asked, following Dotcom out onto the porch, figuring it was best to be emotional where Joker could not see them. He sat down across from her, passing her one last cigarette as he shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to stay here for a few more days so I can meet up with Tom when he comes for the keys, but then I'm going to take Tre's truck to New York and stay with a friend until I can get a job at a restaurant out there." He explained and at this, Jayde smiled, immediately noticing an excited sparkle to his eyes. Despite the fact that her newest best friend would be moving away, she really was happy for him that he was finally going to be doing what he loves. He went on with another shrug. "I think taking a break from his lifestyle is what I need. I don't want to end up-…" his voice cut off just then but Jayde was positive he had been about to go on and say '-like Tre'.

An hour or two later, Jayde had just finished bringing her bags and the one box of clothes down to the garage when Dotcom and Joker finished loading the belongings of his that he deemed necessary. Joker glanced at Jayde before he leaned down to grab her bags and immediately went back to load them, clearly anxious to get away from the house and from Tre's abandoned truck parked beside the Escalade and she could not blame him. Taking a deep breath, Jayde looked to Dotcom, who seemed to avoiding her gaze, instead watching Joker until it became absolutely necessary to say goodbye.

However, this only lasted so long before Joker walked over, clearing his throat as awkwardness descended, but he fought through it, extending his hand to his one remaining, trustworthy team member. Jayde could see tears beginning well up in Dotcom's eyes, hidden behind his glasses as he reached out and shook Joker's hand firmly.

"Dotcom," he said, nodding his head once. "Thanks." He then added, obviously fighting hard to force himself to maintain eye contact with Andrew, who nodded his reply, smiling warmly. It seemed time had made them friends although the weight of grief on Joker's shoulders made it immensely difficult for him to put full effort into a proper goodbye. Releasing Dotcom's hand, he walked away, leaving Jayde to say her own goodbye while he climbed into the driver's seat of the Escalade. Tears were already spilling down her cheeks when she rushed forward, throwing her arms around him again to hug him tightly as he too cried.

"Please stay safe, honey," he told her shakily. ''Be patient and take care of him, call me every week." Pulling back, he rested his hands on her upper arms, trying to smile through his tears although his bottom lip quivered slightly and Jayde took two deep breaths, nodding. "It's going to take time for him to come around again but if there is one person who can give him love, it's you." He paused, apparently debating with himself on whether or not to say something, but he went on after a few seconds with a laugh. "And be sure to invite me to the wedding." He then added jokingly, laughing again in an effort to lighten the situation when Jayde giggled with a slight hiccup, nodding as she moved forward to hug him one last time.

As the Escalade pulled away from the house, Jayde forced herself not to look back at Dotcom and instead took a deep, calming breath, leaning her head back against the seat behind her. Joker was silent and seemed to be lost in his own world as he scowled at the street before them, his knee bouncing, biting down on his bottom lip. A considerable amount of ache had filled Jayde's heart, not only of Tre's untimely and completely unexpected death but also from leaving her best friend behind as she stepped blindly out into a different world. However, Jayde reminded herself to stay strong enough for both she and Joker and as she sat there, watching the fields pass her, she thought back to what Dotcom had said:

"_If there is one person who can give him love, it's you."_

Jayde was positive beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was completely right. She _did _love him, inexplicably, unreasonably and without hesitation. She knew it would be a long time and that he might _never _feel the same way, but if there was one thing she knew, it was that she would always be there for him, as a friend, a lover, his support system and a source of unconditional comfort, even if that meant sitting with him in silence in a car for the next six hours.

Bravely, Jayde reached over, resting her hand on top of his gently, only for him to pull it away, out of her reach without a word, without so much as a glance in her direction. She took her hand back as she closed her eyes patiently, and she reached up to her chest, wrapping her fingers around that bullet charm sitting directly in front of her heart. It was only a matter of time…

In loving memory of Terrell Hicks, my favorite black guy.

GO ON TO THE NEXT ENDING!


	37. Harmony

As the Joker stirred in his bed the following morning, he blinked twice and was suddenly wide awake, feeling remarkably as though he had not even been asleep. Surprisingly, he had found himself lying on his back, which was out of the ordinary for him, since sleeping that way usually turned his muscles into something like frozen rubber bands. However, it seemed that morning, whatever deity he believed in was smiling down on him and his back felt perfectly normal, making it easy for him to sit right up and rise from the bed, glancing behind him quickly to make sure Jayde was still asleep. At some point, she had turned onto her side away from him, her mass of frizzy curls strewn out behind her, spilling onto his side of the bed. It used to be that her long hair bothered him, sticking to his greasepaint makeup or getting in his eyes, nose and mouth, but lately, he had taken a liking to pulling on it and threatening her with taking a pair of kitchen shears to it. He snorted a quiet laugh to himself when he imagined her reaction if he were to actually cut her hair.

After checking the time to be positive it was still well before nine and after visiting the bathroom to make his breath anything less than rancid, he stepped back out into his bedroom, glancing again at the bed to be sure Jayde was still asleep. Fortunately, he was incredibly gifted with moving silently and he praised himself for this skill when he noticed the sound of her quiet, deep breathing and her undisturbed position. For a moment, he paused, admiring the way she looked in his bed; purple was definitely a good color on her…or rather…she was a good color on purple.

His good pair of jeans lay across the armchair in the corner so after stepping into those and locating a black shirt, belt and shoes, he applied all of these before he remembered he had left the keys and his 'birthday knife', as he affectionately named it, on the nightstand. So as quietly as possible, he stepped back over to the bed to slide the objects gently from the black wood table next to it. However, as luck would have it, the moment he moved to straighten back up, a sharp spasm from the muscles in the still healing bullet wound in his leg sent a shock up along his side, sending him bumping into the side of the bed. He cringed, reaching down to grip his thigh then rolled his eyes when Jayde stirred, whimpering quietly as she woke. For a second, he considered ducking down below the edge of the bed and waiting until she was convinced he was gone but she was already turning over with the upper half of her body, blinking heavily when she noticed him preparing to walk away. As much as he had hoped she would assume this was a dream, Joker halted when her fucking disgustingly adorable morning voice asked, "You leaving?"

Doubling back, Joker leaned forward over the bed on his hands. "Yeah, go back to sleep." He answered, planting a heavy kiss on her temple before he stood again. "Big day today." Jayde nodded an understanding, turning back onto her side as she closed her eyes so Joker took that has his permission to leave. However, once he reached the door and opened it, he heard her speak and he paused on the threshold.

"Please be safe," she called gently after him. Joker hesitated. _That _was a strange thing to say…He felt his entire face morph into a scowl.

"Why?" he could not stop himself from asking, even though the answer was perfectly obvious. His eyes fell onto the carpet when he heard Jayde take a deep breath in through her nose before she exhaled heavily.

"'Cause I dunno what I'd do without you," she answered honestly and Joker cringed when he felt his insides squirm, but not from disgust, rather discomfort when he realized he_ might _feel the exact same way about her, even though admitting that would mean absolute death to his pride. He had a feeling, as he left the room without a word that even though the sentiment had come off sounding sickeningly romantic, Jayde had only said it because she honestly felt that way. She was _wanted _now; being with him was probably the safest place for her to be at this point. She probably truly had _no _idea what she would do if something were to happen to him.

Downstairs and out in the garage, Joker found Tre leaned against the side of his truck, sleepily smoking a cigarette, barely able to keep his eyes open. Joker smirked as he approached, withholding from the temptation of scaring the living daylights out of him as he had obviously failed to hear the garage door open and close. Instead, however, he pushed his shoulder as he walked past, nodding his head toward the truck as he rounded the side to climb into the passenger seat…Tre had forbidden him to drive his truck since Kieron had less than accidentally wrecked his last one. With a groan, Tre climbed into the driver's seat, rolling down his window once he had started the truck to let out the smoke from his cigarette.

"So where we goin'…" he asked groggily, pulling the massive truck from the garage, only to frown half-way through his yawn when Joker rolled his eyes.

"I _told _you…We're going to pick up my decoy, make him look all pretty, then we're going to meet Tweak for the explosives, _then_ we're going to Gordon's house, _then _we're coming back home to get ready for happy fun times tonight." He explained hastily, pushing some of his unruly green hair from his face when the wind from the open window blew it there. With a huff, he glanced over at the cigarette between Tre's fingers, glaring at it until he noticed and looked over with a scowl. "Bout done with that thing?" he asked, the top of his nose wrinkling while Tre took one last long drag from it.

"Yeah," he answered, just before he flicked the lit butt of his cigarette into Kieron's lap, laughing as he jumped with a loud curse, rising off of the seat as it fell between his legs and underneath him, only to begin melting a hole in the leather.

"Ya know, I should just let it burn-," Joker started to say but Tre reached over, pushing him out of the way when he realized his plan had backfired.

"Damnit!" he shouted, picking up the butt to flick it through the open window next to him before he looked over to where Joker was laughing, leaning forward to admire the brand new burn mark on the seat beneath him. Tre shook his head, reaching over to rub his thumb across the stain vigorously but unfortunately, to no avail. "_Damn, _man, you're such an asshole…" he added under his breath, shaking his head as Joker laughed, rolling his eyes..

"…Says the guy who just tossed a lit cigarette at my crotch…"

After a short drive into the city, and after giving Tre directions on how to reach Mister Malcolm's apartment building, the heavy, bulletproof truck was pulling into a neighboring parking garage, where they found a good spot near the stairwell between two tall SUVs. They both got out at the same time, Tre following Joker over to the door as he tied his hair back into a tiny bun at the back of his head, groaning when the haircut Maggie had given him allowed for some of the shorter pieces to hang lamely in his face. Tre shook his head as they began trotting up the stairs.

"I don't know how people don't recognize you, bro," he commented, glancing over at Kieron as he laughed, shifting the black duffle bag's position on his shoulder.

"Trust me, I don't either," he answered. "It's like they actually think I have white skin, black eyes and red lips all the time." Bringing his hands up, he ran them along his clean, makeup-less cheeks, rubbing his fingers across his deep scars. "-When in reality, I'm actually a pretty smart-lookin' chap, if I do say so…" Beside him, Tre rolled his eyes.

"At least _Jayde _thinks so…" he grumbled, smirking when Joker nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I'm lucky she's not into black dudes, eh?"

Up on the third floor, Joker and Tre stepped out into the hallway, walking right down to door number 315, where they stopped, Tre in front of the door, Joker to the side, his back against the wall, out of the peep hole's line of sight. He handed Tre a familiar, black, Fed-ex cap that Dotcom had once used to deliver a human heart to Jayde, seemingly years ago. He watched Tre struggle to fit the hat over his thick head of dreadlocks, rolling his eyes.

"I had a _feeling_ it wouldn't fit on your fat-ass head…" he said quietly, grinning when Tre glared at him, just before he reached out and knocked heavily on Jason Malcolm's door. After a few moments, a young, incredibly familiar-looking man opened the door, looking as though he had just woken.

"Jason Malcolm?" Tre asked. The young man arched an eyebrow somewhat suspiciously before he nodded hesitantly.

"Uh…Yeah?"

At that moment, several things happened all at the same time: Tre pushed the unsuspecting man into his house while Joker flew around the corner, clamping a damp, chloroform soaked rag against his face, knocking Jason Malcolm completely unconscious in a matter of seconds. As his body went limp, Joker let him fall to the floor heavily before he took a deep breath, standing up straight to bring his fingers together to crack his knuckles and glance at Tre. His eyebrows raised as he motioned to the man on the floor.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked, but Tre shrugged.

"It's _your _party, you do it." He answered, taking a step back as Joker exhaled heavily, just before he leaned down, took a seat on Jason's chest and wrapped his fingers around his throat, squeezing tightly to constrict his airway. Normally, he liked for his prey to be alive, squirming, staring up frantically into his eyes as he watched them suffocate slowly, but being that this young man seemed fairly strong and it was still early in the morning, Joker continued until the chest beneath him ceased it's movement and the man breathed no more. He removed his hands after several long moments, bringing up one finger to rest beneath his victim's nose, feeling for any breathing before he pressed that same finger to his neck, searching unsuccessfully for a pulse. Above him, standing in the man's kitchen, Tre was shaking his head, tsk-ing.

"Man, you make that look _too _easy…" he commented in something that sounded a bit like awe as Joker stood up, tilting his head to both sides to crack his neck.

"It _is _too easy," Joker answered, shrugging.

For several seconds, the two of them stood there, staring down at the lifeless body on the floor before Tre whistled quietly between his teeth, shaking his head back and forth slowly.

"He looks exactly like you, Ki," Tre stated, glancing over as Joker nodded an agreement.

"Though not as devilishly handsome, I have to admit," he replied, stepping over to grab that black duffle bag from where it had fallen to the floor upon entering the apartment. "But we're about to get him a little bit closer. C'mon, help me get his clothes off."

As they worked together to remove the man's shirt and pajama pants, Tre snorted a laugh, glancing at Joker as he too laughed, both knowing exactly what the other was thinking. Tre started first.

"I bet-" he began but Joker cut across him, nodding his head.

"-Dotcom wishes he was here, I know." He then finished, sharing in a hearty laugh at the gay nerds expense.

After nearly twenty minutes of struggling to redress Jason in Joker's purple garb, after painting his face sloppily in the greasepaint makeup, and after spraying his long-ish, dirty blonde hair green, Joker pulled out his knife and created two cuts on either side of his mouth, aiming to look as closely to his scars as possible. Unless the cops who found this man were complete morons, which was somewhat likely, they would be able to tell from the freshness of the cuts that this was not, in fact, the actual Joker, but at least finding this body would create a good amount of confusion and hold them up a bit.

Joker and Tre both stood up, sweating slightly from the effort of dressing a dead body and they glanced at each other quickly before back down at the 'Joker' on the floor. Kieron rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe I'm sacrificing my purple coat on this guy…" he mumbled disappointedly, his eyebrows forming a small crease as he frowned down at his decoy. Tre clapped him on the shoulder bracingly.

"We'll get you another coat, bro, don't worry," he offered a little too falsely consolingly for Joker's taste and he laughed as he smacked his hand away.

"Shut up, let's go. I've got guys coming to get him soon."

After a short trip through the city into the Narrows, Tre and Joker were once again getting out of the truck to step onto the sidewalk and over to a heavy metal door where they paused, turning to look at each other. Joker knew what Tre was about to say and beat him to the punch.

"Nope, this one's all you," he instructed firmly, nodding his head at the door, leaving Tre to roll his eyes, reach out, and knock heavily on the metal. A few moments later, a tiny slot opened near the top where a set of eyes peered through, glancing back and forth between the two men. A squeaky voice spoke.

"Password?"

Joker tsk-ed, rolling his eyes upward as though trying to remember what it was. "Let's see, um…I think it's…" Suddenly, he leaned forward, pounding hard on the door, once with his fist as he put his eyes right up to the slot. "'Open the fucking door or I'm gonna kill you, Tweak,'." The slot slid closed quickly, only for the sound of several locks clicking out of place to come from the other side while Joker looked to Tre with a shrug at the blank, annoyed expression on his face. "What? That password always works."

In a matter of seconds, the heavy door slid open sideways, revealing a shorter, mousy-looking man with beady eyes who immediately shuffled backward, allowing the Joker and his associate to enter the short, dingy hallway. He seemed to be cowering in either fear or respect, or both, as the tall Joker glared down at him, ignoring the fact that he was not wearing his usual greasepaint smile.

"Show me what you've got for me, Tweak, I'm on a time limit here." he instructed impatiently, nodding his head toward the end of the hallway.

"Certainly," the short man replied, scooting away down the hall, throwing a shifty, uncertain glance over his shoulder every few paces. Joker glanced at Tre to roll his eyes as his best friend grinned, once again sharing in a silent conversation; nervous people like this irritated both of them.

Down the hall and to the right sat a room that very much mimicked the dirty, cramped hallway they had just left, although the walls were hidden by tall, metal shelves, on top of which sat all manner of chemicals and objects used for bomb-making. Huge spools of wiring and fuses sat on the floor all around the room, leaving a small space for Joker and Tre to stand on and they both turned on the spot, taking in the vast array of random weaponry and explosives. The man, Tweak, was pushing a pair of glasses onto his face when Joker finally spoke up.

"So I need something small and discrete-…" he started, but paused when Tweak immediately walked over to one of the shelves and pulled down a small, black bar, connected to several wires. He returned, holding it out as though the thing were moments for exploding but Joker took it from him, scowling down at the thing as he inspected it, picking up the end of one of the wires to examine it.

"This is an equivalent to C-4…Medium-velocity explosion but causes one hell of a fire," he explained in his rather high voice. Behind his large, round glasses, he raised his eyebrows. "Is the home made of wood?"

"Yes," Joker answered, nodding. "The supports are all wood,"

"Ahh…" Tweak groaned, reaching up to scratch nervously at the back of his balding head. "Then you guys are in for quite a show."

After being shown through nearly all of their options, Joker made the executive decision to go with the first device he had been shown but as Tweak handed him a fifty foot spool of cable and fuse, both he and Tre glanced at each other, frowning as they inspected the frayed end and shoddy placement. Joker took a step toward him, feeling empowered even without the help of his greasepaint as the short man took a hasty step backward, the back of his legs bumping into a small metal desk against one wall.

"Now, if I have problems with this, I can come back and expect to uh-…speak with you about your shitty workmanship, _yes?" _he asked in a raspy, clowny voice, raising his eyebrows as Tweak stammered, glancing back and forth between the Joker's intimidating glare and the one of his tall associate.

"Uh-…Y-yes, of course, but I'm positive it should be _more _than-…"

BANG

Joker jumped with a cringe as splattered, warm blood hit him square in the face, staining his shirt and exposed neck and arms as he stood less than two feet from the now dead man, missing half of his head. Behind him, Tre was disarming his gun to place it back into the lining of his jeans, looking up with his eyebrows raised when Joker spun to face him, tossing his hands.

"You couldna' waited 'til I wasn't two feet from the guy and didn't have my _mouth _open?" he asked loudly, spitting several times on the floor as Tre shrugged his broad shoulders, motioning at the lifeless, bleeding body of Tweak that had slumped down to the ground against his desk.

"C'mon, bruh, the guy was 'bout to stiff us for this shitty-ass cable and you even said-…" he started to say, but paused, frowning when Joker shook his head irritably, trying to rid himself of the loud ringing the gunshot had started in his ears as he leaned down to pick up the cable, fuses and the black bar.

"Fail, Tre…Fail." He grumbled, shoving the spool of cable at him as they left the room and ventured back out into the hallway. "Now I gotta find a sink in this dump to wash all this blood off. Go start the car, I gotta-…gotta go…" he was stammering impatiently before he took off down the hall, glancing in each of the rooms while Tre laughed to himself, rolling his eyes as he headed back out toward the street.

Before long, Joker returned to the truck, carrying a long, metal rocket launcher, which he placed quickly in the back before climbing into the passenger seat, where he noticed Tre scowling at him in slight confusion. Joker shrugged, pushing his hair away from his face as he soaked in the cool air conditioning.

"What? I figure if the fuses don't work, we have a back-up plan," he explained, smirking proudly at his sleuthing skills as Tre shook his head, pulling the massive truck away from the curb.

Once making it past the police station without incident and after Tre had jokingly threatened to drop him off outside, the truck was pulling up alongside the Gordon house where they stopped, pausing to watch for a few minutes. Fortunately, both of the family cars were gone, as Linman had informed Joker the make and model of both of them so after reaching into the back for two fake maintenance-worker hats, both Joker and Tre put them on, stepping out of the truck with their supplies, glancing around for any sign of people. It seemed most of the neighborhood had already left for work so once they had carried the fuses, cable and explosives back through the Gordon's car port and into their small back yard, Joker glanced around, feeling a _little_ uneasy about the less than concealing chain-link fence that separated the yard from the neighboring house.

"Alright, let's do this fast," he told Tre, kneeling down to unwind a long length of cable from the plastic spool before he handed it off, feeding extra length as Tre walked along the back of the house to the far side, where he disappeared momentarily from view. While he was gone, Joker glanced at the house behind him, straining to see through the windows. The glare from the sun made it difficult to see anything in detail but as his eyes caught movement from beyond, inside the home, he turned back to face the Gordon's house, trying hard to ignore the prickly, itchy sensation of the hair on the back of his neck rising; _someone _was watching them.

Kneeling down, Joker pulled a pair of wire-cutters from his back pocket, severing the length of cable from the remaining thirty feet, only to continue working quickly to connect it to the narrow black bar. On the back of the explosive, Joker found a long strip of paper, which he peeled away hastily before pressing the sticky strip to the wall of the house, hidden behind the drain pipe that ran vertically from the roof to the ground, where it allowed for rain water to run off into the grass. Unless someone came around and started snooping, this device should go completely unnoticed…at least until Tre came around the house toward him and Joker looked up, watching his best friend's face as a slight look of concern slid onto his features. Tre's eyes moved to meet the Joker's where they shared a quick silent conversation. Joker understood immediately and rose to his full height, turning to face the neighbors yard, where a middle-aged woman had just stepped out, still wearing a floral nightgown and slippers.

That prickly sensation returned to the back of Joker's neck as their gazes locked and the woman's eyes began to widen as she noticed the scars on either side of his mouth, the dark, evil eyes and short, green ponytail and wispy hair poking out from beneath the black hat. Then, simultaneously, her mouth opened to scream as Joker sprang into action, ripping the hat from his head, taking with it, his hair tie, loosing his hair so it fell down around his face. Like a cheetah that had just spotted it's prey, Joker ran across the yard to the short chain-link fence, which he jumped easily, thrusting his hand into his pocket to pull from within it, his trusty, newest, birthday knife.

"HELP!" the woman screamed, running as fast as she could toward her back door but being that she was still in house shoes and Joker was _much _quicker, he was to her, practically tackling her as his hand flew over her mouth, muffling her next cries. She struggled hard against him as he pushed her to the ground near her house, hidden from view by her tall wooden fence, but Joker was already laughing, moving to sit on her as he kept his hand clamped hard over her mouth.

"Looks like you were in the wrong place-…" he started, bringing down his knife, to easily cut her throat from one side to the other, forcing her panicked, horrified eyes to widen even further as dark, red blood spilled from her neck and into the lining of her nightgown. "-At the wrong time, my dear." He finally finished with a growl, watching in interest as she began to choke and cough up blood against his hand.

Finally, after nearly a full minute of watching his latest, unexpected victim bleed out, Joker stood up, flinging his hand to spatter some of the blood onto the wall next to him, staging it to look as though she had been attacked a different way. However, as he glanced down at the woman laying before him, the pool of blood beneath her and his already bloodied finger, he 'hmm'-ed to himself, kneeling back down to dip his finger back into the blood.

Tre was just trotting across the yard, shaking his head as he approached and looked from the dead woman to the message Joker had just scrawled across the wall.

'Joe Kerr was here'

"Damn, man, was that really necessary?" he asked, watching his best friend's evil features as he leaned over, wiping the rest of the drying blood on his hand against the wall, leaving a long, smeared print against the pale yellow paint. Joker shrugged.

"She was about to go screaming to the whole street and probably would have called dear Mister Gordon to inform him that _the Joker _was planting explosives against his house, so…you tell me." he answered, leaning forward to glance inside the woman's house. "Go start the car and keep an eye out, I'm gonna put her inside and make sure no one else is home."

With Tre gone to obey his direction, Joker leaned down to drag the woman up the wooden steps and into the back door of her house, closing it behind him once her slippers had made it past the threshold. The inside of her house reminded him of Maggie's, though not as tidy and as he took a deep breath, he could tell she owned a cat or possibly five. His nose wrinkled as he leaned down, tugging the dead woman's left arm from underneath her body, only to pause when the glint of something shiny caught his attention. On her left hand, on her fourth finger sat a surprisingly stunning silver ring, complete with several small but expensive-looking diamonds, laid into the band. For several moments, he knelt there, staring at it, wondering if this was an engagement ring or if this seemingly lonely older woman was actually married…Either way, she would most certainly not be needing it anymore and upon thinking about it, Joker thought of one person who would probably enjoying wearing it... So he slipped the ring from her finger and tucked it into his front pocket as he rose from the body and stepped over to the sink to rinse his hands and knife, before he went to join Tre in the waiting truck.

Halfway back to the house, Joker glanced over at Tre as he grunted a laugh, shaking his head. "God damn, bruh. Three murders before noon," he commented, passing a cigarette to Joker as he lit his own and rolled down the windows. Joker nodded with a shrug, inhaling deeply as he took a deep pull. "That's gotta be a new record, right?" Tre's eyebrows raised when Joker shook his head.

"No," he answered, but when he did not continue, Tre shook his head again, leaning back comfortably in the seat.

"I don't know how a guy like you landed a girl like Jayde, man, that's the honest to god truth," he stated, but then laughed when Joker scoffed. However after a few seconds, after thinking about what he had said, he too shrugged his shoulders, flicking some of the ash from his cigarette through the open window.

"Honestly, I don't either, Tre." He answered, letting eyes gaze out through the window to the passing fields and the white and black-spotted cows within them, munching idly on the grass. "None of this was supposed to happen…She was supposed to be a _game_, but…" At this, his voice trailed off so Tre took the opportunity to speak.

"I'm just surprised she doesn't annoy you," he commented, laughing as Joker nodded, his eyes widening.

"She _does _annoy me, with all those…questions and…_kissin' _me 'n shit…" Again his voice trailed off and Tre laughed loudly.

"Man, you _lie. _You _like _all that about her. If you didn't, she wouldn't be living in your house and _definitely _wouldn't still be _alive_," he paused, his notched eyebrows furrowing slightly as he looked over to his best friend. "Ya know, if I didn't know any better, I would say you _love _that girl." At this, Joker let out a loud, fake laugh, tossing his head slightly as his hair blew into his face.

"Ya know, if _I _didn't know any better, I would say you're 'bout to get knocked the _fuck _out."

_Finally, _after their seemingly long and highly eventful morning, Joker was stepping back into the huge house ahead of Tre, his eyes immediately noticing Jayde over on the couch with a lock of her hair twisted around her finger, watching one of the ridiculous shows she liked to watch. His first reaction was to go over, sit next to her and start bugging her to pieces but fortunately, he remembered that lovely rocket launcher he had found at Tweak's place so he nudged Tre in the arm, moving back toward the garage door to go retrieve it. Without even looking, Joker knew Jayde's forever curious eyes had already turned to watch and he smirked to himself as he imagined the first question out of her mouth.

"What is _that_?"

Her question flew right out like clockwork as Joker and Tre returned to set the heavy, metal 'toy' on the dining room table but before either of them could answer, they both shouted 'JINX!' at the exact same time…although Joker could _swear_ he had won by a half-second. The arguing ensued.

"Ah! I was firs-!"

"No way, bruh. That was ya boy-"

"Bullshit! I said it way before-"

Joker looked over to Jayde, only to laugh when he noticed that cute, little wrinkle her eyebrows formed when she frowned. From the expression on her face, it was obvious Jayde was about to demand an explanation, so Joker beat her to the punch and shrugged as Tre walked away scowling.

"Tre and I started a game where we say 'jinx' every time you ask something like that." He explained, knowing this would offend her. "First person to say it gets to punch the loser, so…C'_mere_, Tre…" he called to him like one would to a straying puppy but Tre was already stepping outside onto the patio, rolling his eyes as he lit up a cigarette. Over on the couch, Jayde let out a huff of irritation before she folded her arms, turning back to face the tv, leaving Joker to roll his eyes, laughing as he trotted over to launch himself over the back of the couch and land heavily next to her, bouncing both of them up and down a few times. His hand reached out, practically smacking the top of her head in a less than affectionate way.

"Aw, Jayde, don't be a spoil-sport. We have fun at your expense, what's wrong with that?" he asked, baring his teeth in a highly unfriendly grin. Jayde rolled her eyes, her arms still folded firmly in place over her stomach as she stared pointedly at the tv ahead of her. Joker could feel himself ready to grow irritated and maybe even a little angry with her attitude, but this entire day was supposed to be fun for him. This was the climax of his plans, and _nothing _was going to ruin it for him. Leaning toward her, Joker took a short breath in of that wonderfully familiar coconut scent before he growled, "Damn, girl, you gonna kiss ya man, or what?"

Jayde seemed to be debating on whether or not she wanted to refuse him but seemed to think better of it and leaned to the side, planting a short, highly unsatisfying kiss on his cheek. She had to have known this would not suffice as Joker could feel her grinning against him when he laughed deeply, crazily, grabbing both sides of her face to turn it toward him again and kiss her firmly on the lips. However, she _loved _pretending to be mad at him and smacked him a few times on the chest to facilitate this as she tried to pull away. Finally, Joker let her go, but only to wrap his arm around her to stroke the top of her head with much more force than necessary.

"Ah, Jayde, I'm happy to see you too, dear."

He was being perfectly honest.

The rest of the afternoon passed painfully slowly for Joker as he waited anxiously for the sun to go down and hunting time to fall. He could not have forced his knee to stop bouncing if he tried so instead of running around in circles like he honestly felt like doing, he took his anxiety and excitement out on his roommates, turning first to start firing off gay jokes at every turn, followed shortly by making fun of Tre for a while, before sitting there with his arm wrapped around Jayde, only to tap incessantly against her shoulder with his finger. She only tolerated so much of this before she pushed him away, groaning something about 'obnoxious', even though he was absolutely positive she was enjoying the attention he was showing her.

_Finally, finally, _at around eight, he excused himself to go take a shower and figure out what he was going to wear, since his purple suit was no longer an option. As he thought longingly of it, his heart gave a small pang of angst at losing such a wonderful, appropriate outfit for his personality and persona, but it had truly gone to a good cause and he could always find something just like it along the way. Of course, he did still have his nearly matching, black suit but something about the evening and the warm weather outside called for something less heavy and constricting. The camouflage pants, black boots and shirt would have to work for the night…especially if he planned on blending in and not being caught.

An hour later, after applying his beautiful face, lacing up his boots and arming himself with several knives and his favorite Desert Eagle, Joker bounced from his room and all the way down the stairs, pausing when he remembered that he had forgotten to tell Jayde what her first instructions of the evening were. He turned to face the upper landing and took a deep breath.

"JAYDE!"

His hands met his hips as he waited, but after only a few moments, she appeared on the second story, smiling as she leaned over the railing, looking down at him. He could not stop himself from smiling back at her and admiring the way her long hair fell over her shoulders to frame either side of her face. He cleared his throat.

"You are to leave the house at ten-thirty, not a minute later, and meet us about a half-mile from the dorms." He told her firmly, remaining traces of a grin still evident on his face, giving his upward-curving scars the greater illusion of a smile. "The address and directions are already in the GPS. Follow that then page me on the radio once you reach the intersection of Fifth and Main." At this, Jayde opened her mouth to ask '_what _radio?', but once again, Joker cut across her, holding up a finger. "It's in the center console in the Escalade." He paused, his dark, black-ringed eyes focused on hers intently. "You understand?"

Without hesitation, as Joker had trained her to do, Jayde responded, "Yes." And with that, Joker turned to stride across to the garage door and disappear beyond it, without so much as a look over his shoulder.

Ten miles down the road, with Tre driving the newly painted and mildly reinforced police cruiser once belonging to Detective Mitchell, Joker pulled his small walkie-talkie from his pocket, switching the dial to the first channel.

"Team one, are you in place?" he growled into it, his hyper vigilant eyes scanning the passing road and fields for movement. A soft 'csh' came from the radio before a quiet reply.

"Yeah, boss, house number one has been taken care of, but we got to house number two and…someone painted blood over the door." Came the voice of team one's leader. Joker's eyebrows furrowed as he continued to catch every ounce of movement around him with his eyes. The black makeup aided his already superior night vision.

"Is it blood or red paint?" he then asked after his quick mind had processed the information to a certain point. His predatory instincts were kicking into overdrive; it had been a while since he had pulled off a stunt of this caliber and it was calling on every single second of training he had put himself through.

The voice answered, "blood."

Joker nodded, smirking to himself. "_Ah, _looks like someone's been reading their Bible." He growled. "Leave the house alone. Any others with blood on or over the door are to be left alone. When you've finished the third house, hide and wait for instruction. Zero hour in two."

After being assured by team one that his orders would be obeyed, Joker switched the radio to the next channel, glancing over at Tre as he drove, scowling determinedly. It seemed he was feeding off of Joker's energy and was feeling just as anxious and pent-up as he was. Joker shook his head. "People never fail to astound me, Tre," he commented but did not continue and instead went on to the next channel to get updates on the other two teams and to give the information concerning the blood on the doors. Joker believed strongly that the people who had actually done their 'homework' or were smart enough to connect the Biblical occurrence of the first Passover to his plan deserved to have their child live, as it was in the scripture. If he was going to play God, he was going to do it the right way.

Once Joker and Tre had made it safely into the heart of downtown Gotham and up into one of the four buildings that cornered the intersection of Fifth and Main, Joker went directly to the windows, bringing that same radio out again to press down the button and speak into it as he stared down at the intersection below, watching his goons in clown masks as they strung his 'dead body' by the neck from the traffic light.

"Alright, boys, lookin' sharp. Let's get Mister Joker up then one of you call the piggies and let 'em know we got a dangler at Fifth and Main, yes?"

"Yeah, boss."

And of course, within five minutes after the clowns had gotten the body hung up and scattered, the sound of sirens and the flashing of blue and red lights reached the building. First, it was only two or three cars, but it seemed the news of the 'Joker's death' spread like the flu through the police department and soon, at least six or seven cruisers came to barricade the intersection, followed shortly by one of the long, giant fire trucks and two ambulances. Joker and Tre watched all of this from behind the glass on the third floor, both quietly lost in their own thoughts. Joker had no idea what Tre was thinking about, but he was silently wondering how Jayde was about to react when she came down the street to see what appeared to be his body hanging by the neck from the traffic light. Perhaps she would remember that he had not been wearing his purple suit upon leaving the house, perhaps she would instantly break down and cry…The thought of her grieving over his supposed death brought him a small bit of contentment, and even sent a smile to his face as he imagined the way she would burst in and start slapping him when she realized he was still very much alive.

Fifteen minutes later, the cops seemed to have made little progress in getting the body down, apparently afraid it was about to start speaking or blow up or infect them with some disease but luckily, the time was well past ten-thirty, meaning he was about to notice the Escalade turning down Main street any moment now…With his nose and forehead against the glass, Joker watched intently, ignoring Tre's laughter as he watched for Jayde, only to grab the radio from his back pocket when he noticed the black, heavily armored vehicle down on the street below, turning left as the police officer directed traffic that way. He pressed his fingers to the side of the device, speaking into it.

"Jayde, where are you?" he asked, even though he had just seen her and he laughed as he released the button, picturing the look on her face when she heard his voice coming from seemingly nowhere. After a few seconds, the radio gave a soft 'csh' before her somewhat panicked voice.

"I thought you were dead!" she shouted through the walkie-talkie and Joker looked over at Tre as he laughed, shaking his head as he continued to watch the scene down on the street below. "What the fuck-" she had started to go on and ask what the _fuck _was wrong with him but she stopped to let out a short squeak of surprise; Dotcom must have found her.

"Get out, lock the car and follow Dotcom. I put your gun and knife into the center console so grab those too." He instructed quickly, giving Jayde no further time to sit there and berate him for faking his own death and not giving her warning. Being that the police were so close, literally right up the street, Joker hoped sincerely that Jayde and Dotcom were being quiet as they left the Escalade in the alley and made their way into the building.

For several minutes, he and Tre stood there, listening for the sound of approaching boots and before long, Joker turned to face the door when he heard Jayde and Dotcom step into the room. Just as he had been expecting, Jayde looked _mad _ and yet totally relieved as she stormed over to him, glaring at him as a huge grin flew onto his face. He took a step back with a loud laugh, having foreseen the cute, wanna-be powerful shove she gave him, pushing him hard with her hands against his chest.

"You couldn't have warned me you were going to 'kill yourself'?" she asked loudly, slapping him girlishly as all three of the boys laughed, and Joker held up his arm to fend off her attack.

"And miss this reaction?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "No way!" Finally, he took control and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer until she relaxed and exhaled softly against his shirt. Once convinced she was not going to keep attacking him, he pulled back, placing one of his gloved hands against her scarred cheek to grin down at her. His eyebrows raised. "I'm bettin' you're glad I'm still alive though, arentcha?"

As Jayde hesitated, obviously still fighting with herself on whether or not she should still be 'mad' or otherwise be relieved that he was still alive, Joker watched, suddenly realizing that besides the one kiss he had forced on her earlier that afternoon, he had barely touched her all day. His hands seemed to gravitate to her hips as he waited for her answer so instead of wasting more time, he leaned down, quickly kissing her lips gently, once again forcing himself to ignore the fact that Dotcom was probably staring at them doe-eyed, and that Tre had probably rolled his eyes and turned away. But as Jayde leaned into him, tilting her head back to meet his kiss fully, Joker grinned against her lips, feeling as though no one else was even in the room with them. A second later, the sound of Tre clearing his throat, forced Jayde to pull away from him, the deepening rouge of her cheeks evident even in the dark of the lightless room.

"Ay, bruh," Tre said to get his attention. "It looks like they might have noticed it's not you down there…"

Quickly, Joker turned back to the windows, just in time to see an officer he recognized as a man named Taylor turn to the crowd of onlookers that had gathered and bring a loud-speaker up to his face. His somewhat familiar voice came through loudly enough for all four of them to hear right through the glass, although the sound was muffled.

"We've just confirmed this is _not _the Joker," he called to the crowd. "All of you need to return to your homes, _immediately_. There is a city-wide curfew of eleven while his whereabouts are still unknown. Keep checking online and on the news for updates."

At this, Joker let out a growl of laughter, reaching down into the cargo pocket of his camouflage pants, pulling from within, a small detonator, complete with blinking blue light, circling that one fateful button. Without hesitation, he pressed his thumb down on it hard, watching the police down on the street as the explosion at the dorms went off, rattling the entire building, shaking the windows so hard, he was surprised they didn't all shatter simultaneously. Beside him, Jayde slapped her hands over her ears as the subsequent shock-wave hit the building like a sonic boom and Joker howled with laughter as he wrapped one arm around her, leaning on her slightly as he and his faithful team watched the cops and on-looking Gothamites scatter like ants.

With the crowd of people disappearing into near-by shops or their cars, the police scrambled into their cruisers, apparently of the mind that if they were to hurry, they could assist whoever had been involved in the explosion. Joker knew this to be an extravagant falsehood; it would be a true miracle if anyone survived the dorm bombing. But as much fun and as exuberant as he felt about killing a massive amount of firstborns with just the push of a button, it seemed Joker was ready to switch back into business-mode and move his team onto the next task- Gordon's house.

"_Now,"_ Joker began, turning from the windows once the intersection had completely cleared and he clapped his hands together once. "Dotcom, grab that bag for me and let's get outta here." Out in the hallway, Joker's strides lengthened with determination as he led his team down to the stairwell, using this time to explain their next moves. "Dotcom, we're leaving the cruiser where it is over off of Fifth and I'm going to have you come and get the truck in the morning. For now, I want you to get us over to Gordon's taking the back roads through the Narrows. Jayde, you keep lookin' fine and Tre, I need you to use your black-guy radar to keep an eye out for the fuzz." Tre glanced over at Jayde with a heavy roll of his eyes as she grinned at him from behind Joker's back, before he answered.

"Check."

Jayde copied him and responded as well by acknowledging to his instruction with a "Yeah, boss", something she had heard said to him many times, but up until them had not used. She laughed quietly when he stopped half-way between two stairs, his eyes narrowed and his forehead wrinkled in a scowl as he hmm-ed delightedly. His hand slid onto her lower back as she caught up to him, smirking to herself as he slowed to walk down the stairs beside her.

"Hey, I _like _that…" he growled, grinning when both Tre and Dotcom groaned and rolled their eyes. "-think I'll have you call me that from now on…" he then added, leaning down to say it in her ear, sending goosebumps washing all along her arms.

Downstairs in the alley, Joker, Tre, Jayde and Dotcom all stopped, listening for sounds out on the street, waiting for several long moments before making a move to the Escalade. From the near silence and distant wailing from the sirens of fire trucks, emergency response teams and police cruisers, it seemed the intersection of Fifth and Main had been cleared, along with it, the crowd of on-lookers, who had all apparently decided it would be safest to just return home. Joker laughed to himself as he followed Tre into the middle two seats of the SUV, leaving Jayde and Dotcom to sit in the front.

"I bet Kelly's got his hands full tonight," he commented, turning to glance backward through the window as Dotcom began to back out of the alley. "…Though it's pretty unlikely anyone survived that explosion."

"Did you tell him what was goin' down?" Tre asked, leaving Joker to shrug his shoulders as his knee started to bounce out of control.

"Nah," he answered. "I wanted to leave it a surprise…kinda like the surprise we left for Gordon at his house." An excited, impatient giggle of sorts left him as he imagined the look on the police commissioners face when he learned his house and family had been destroyed. Of course, there was every chance that he had predicted something of the sort and had relocated his family, but after everything Joker and Tre had gone through that morning to get the explosives, wire the house and cover their tracks, he would see this through to completion, whether it was pointless or not…At least Gordon would learn not to speak publicly about things he did not understand. As much as Joker would love to have a nice, sit-down chat with him about his true purpose behind attacking the city so relentlessly, the risk to his freedom was too great; blowing up his house would just have to suffice.

Glancing over at Tre, Joker rolled his eyes. "I hope this thing goes off after all that trouble we had this morning with Tweak and his fuses," he was grumbling, his knee about to bounce a hole into the floor of the SUV. Tre nodded his agreement.

"I just can't believe Tweak tried to dick us over on that weak-ass supply. It's a good thing we caught him." At this, Joker barked a laugh.

"You mean, it's a good thing _you _blew him half to hell, right?"

Luckily, Dotcom knew exactly where he was supposed to be taking them and pulled off to the side of the road after about twenty minutes, right alongside a row of dark houses, parking the massive Escalade in between two smaller cars against the curb. At night, in the dark, the familiar-looking houses seemed different, almost haunted looking as they sat elevated above car ports and driveways, supported by their wooden beams. It seemed the inhabitants of this row of homes had already turned in for the evening, being that it was rapidly nearing one in the morning and either had not heard the explosion or were already watching the news about the 'attack'. Joker was just wondering if Gordon's neighbor had been discovered, dead in her house yet when he snapped himself out of it and clapped his hands together with a loud smack.

"Alright, we're gonna get out and walk over to that alley across the street from Gordon's place, about fifty feet down. Dotcom, keep it running 'cause we're coming right back. As soon as the three of us are back, you're gonna pull down that side street over there and take us back home. Then it's time for one last smoke at the house, capiche?" he asked everyone but Jayde was frowning from her place in the passenger seat. Before she even opened her mouth to speak, Joker knew exactly what she was going to say and grinned as he and Tre glanced at each other.

"I'm coming with you?" she asked, but only to groan and roll her eyes as they both, again, shouted "JINX" at the exact same time. Even Dotcom, in the driver's seat laughed, looking over with a sympathetic smile when Jayde turned to glare at him for finding their offensive game amusing. From the back seat, Joker and Tre were climbing out of the car, arguing again over who had said it first so Jayde followed, rolling her eyes.

After looking both ways to be certain the street was empty, Jayde followed the two boys to the far sidewalk where they slinked along the long, solid white wall until they could sink into an alleyway, just across from the Gordon's driveway. With Tre and Joker behind her, Jayde turned to face them, watching as Joker pulled yet another detonator from his pocket, flipping open that same plastic latch to reveal the familiar, blinking blue button. As much as she had grown to enjoy being out with them, participating in these crazy schemes of his, Jayde could honestly only be excited that it was seemingly almost over and that they were mere minutes away from being on their way home to celebrate. It had been an incredibly long day and she was really ready to finally be alone with him when he wasn't feeling extraordinarily obnoxious. Since that morning, really all she had wanted was to sit with him and kiss his stupid face.

Now, as she watched him prepare to push the button, Jayde stared up at the Joker, grinning at the determined, excited energy practically pulsating from him. His black outlined eyes glanced back and forth between his hands and the home across the street before he must have noticed her staring and turned his attention to her, his eyebrows arching when he met her silly, adoring gaze. His red painted lips twisted into a smirk as he leaned down slightly toward her.

"Kiss me, fool, for good luck." He instructed, once again completely ignoring Tre as he brought his hand up to pull Jayde's face toward him, connecting their lips. He could feel her trying hard not to grin or even laugh in surprise that he had actually just halted the plan to kiss her, but as Tre pushed his shoulder, Joker rocked to the side, rising to stand up straight and turn to glare at him.

"Man, c'mon, blow this shit up. I got a blunt of some dank at the house wit' our names on it." He explained, nodding across the street at the perfectly in-tact home as Jayde blushed heavily and Joker rolled his eyes. Tre continued to ramble on under his breath in that lovingly, characteristic way. "-Think I'm foolin' witchu…Ova' here _smoochin _n' shit, tryna blow up somebody house…"

Finally, Joker turned to face the street, pressing his thumb down onto the button. Jayde watched, expecting the light to turn from blue to red like it always did, however, this time, the light remained firmly blue and ceased it's blinking; the house remained in tact. Looking up at him, Jayde watched as Joker's eyebrows furrowed, wrinkling lines into his already creased and smeared greasepaint.

"Wha' happen?" Tre asked, leaning to the side to see around Joker's shoulder to the device. Confusion was obvious through every feature on his painted face and his tongue clicked against his top teeth as he scowled from the detonator to the house across the street and back again.

"Uh…_Nothing, apparently_?" he answered, his voice raspy and slightly irritated. A moment later, he groaned, smacking the thing against his hand as if that would make it work. Again, nothing happened. At this, he swore loudly, tossing one hand at the perfectly in-tact home. "Those damn fuses, I swear Tweak fucked us over on these andit's not like we can go ask for a _refund_..." He growled, turning to glare at Tre pointedly as he shrugged, taking a deep breath in.

"Well, I really wanna go home 'n get nice 'n fucked up so I'm gonna run over and put that one fuse back in place. I bet the wind just knocked it out again." He offered, taking a step forward to walk out of the alley, but Joker held out an arm, holding him back.

"You crazy?" he asked, his eyebrows arching sharply as Tre rolled his eyes.

"Nah, bruh, I'm just gonna go put it back in then when I come back, you gotta press the button again and it'll go up." He explained as though this were no big deal, although Joker did not seem convinced and kept his arm in place, scowling at Tre's animated features until he sighed, rolling his eyes. "We done this a thousand times, that shitty-ass fuse prolly fell out again. Imma go fix it."

Finally, Joker moved his arm, allowing Tre to trot out into the street, both he and Jayde watching as he glanced both ways, wisely, before he crossed over to the car port of the house, crouching slightly as he snuck past one of the family's cars. Jayde took a deep breath, the feeling that this might end really poorly beginning to creep up in her as she and Joker watched the far side of the street, practically holding their breath as Tre stayed out of sight. Any moment, the house was either going to go up in a ball of flames or flashing blue and red lights were going to appear from seemingly no where. Joker seemed to be sharing just a bit of this nervousness as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other and back, watching closely, glancing up and down the street for any sign of life.

Fortunately, a few moments later, Jayde and Joker both breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Tre came trotting back across the street toward them, grinning proudly. Joker clapped him on the shoulder as he squeezed between them back to his original position within the alley, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead to remove the small beads of sweat that had gathered there.

"Yeah, man, that one fuse slipped out again," he explained, nodding at the detonator in Joker's hand. "Try it now."

And with that, Joker's thumb pressed down hard on the button, only for another, more mild explosion to light up the night sky, illuminating their surroundings as though the sun were out before it all went black again. Several near by car alarms erupted into screams as the force of the shock wave rocked them slightly, pieces of flaming house raining down along the street. Joker doubled over in laughter as Tweaks prediction came to life, putting on one hell of a show as the neighboring homes burst into flames, the wood giving several loud pops as the fire consumed them like small pieces of paper. Behind them, Tre was running out onto the sidewalk, motioning with his head for them to follow.

Back at the Escalade, the three of them bounded in, occupying their previous seats, laughing triumphantly as Dotcom pulled them away from the curb and down the side street that Joker had indicated just minutes before. Tre and Joker shook hands once he had tossed the now useless detonator out the window.

"There you go, bruh. Another one of your crazy-ass plans I helped you see through to completion." Tre was saying, grinning proudly as Joker nodded, sighing heavily as the rest of that anxious energy drained from his body and he took one more deep breath of dirty Gotham air, wondering to himself if he would ever come back to enjoy it again.

"Yeah and I have gold star stickers for _all_ three of you when we get home," he answered, his voice clowny and raspy with sarcasm and all three members of his team rolled their eyes heavily.

Back at the house, once they had all made it inside, Tre disappeared promptly into his room for those blunts he had mentioned while Dotcom ran upstairs to change his clothes, leaving Joker to step forward and twirl Jayde beneath his arm in a very ballroom dance-like way, grinning as she laughed and placed her right hand on his shoulder with the other clamped in his black glove. From there, they rotated slowly, smirking at each other, waiting for each other to say something. Jayde spoke first, shaking her head slightly as she closed her eyes.

"I don't know what I would've done if that had really been you…" she murmured in reference to the Joker-like body that had been hanging from the traffic light. She opened her eyes but only to let them focus on his chest, somewhat hesitant to meet his gaze now as he grunted a laugh, pulling her closer so he could lean down and 'dance' with her cheek to cheek.

"Me either," he answered a few moments later, grinning against the scar on her cheek when she laughed. Her hand released his to link her arms around his broad shoulders and rise up onto her toes, taking a deep breath in when they stopped moving to simply stand there in the middle of the house, their arms around each other. Joker inhaled deeply, relishing in the fact that the night had gone well, and the incredibly few people he actually cared about were still alive and with him. Reaching up, Joker took a gentle hold of her wrists to pull them from around his shoulders and take a step back, smiling when Jayde opened her eyes to look straight up at him. "I have something for you," he suddenly stated, his grin expanding when Jayde's bright blue eyes lit up. "Go sit outside and I'll be _right _back."

While Joker climbed the stairs, taking two at a time, Jayde obeyed his instruction and stepped out onto the patio, taking a seat at the large round table, only to look up when she heard the glass slide open behind her and Tre stepped out, glancing behind him into the house.

"Where that crazy bitch go now?" he asked, pulling a lighter from his pocket before he sat across the table from her, placing a thin, freshly rolled blunt between his lips to light it and inhale deeply. Jayde grinned, knowing exactly who he was asking about.

"I dunno, he said he has something for me…" she answered, glancing inside over her shoulder as Tre's eyes widened.

"Uh…really?" he asked, his eyebrows tightening into a frown. "Didn't say what?" Jayde shrugged, leaning forward to take the blunt from him as he passed it across to her. She took a small, light pull from it before she exhaled slowly and she was just about to go on and explain that he had not when the glass slid open yet again, revealing Dotcom, now wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. He took a deep breath, only for his nose to wrinkle when he immediately noticed the stench of burning weed and cigar paper. As he sat down at the seat between Jayde and Tre, she held the blunt out to him, but he shook his head, pulling his pack of cigarettes from his pocket to lean back and light one. A moment later, he seemed to notice that Joker was no where in sight and repeated Tre's question.

"Where did he go?" he asked and Jayde was about to roll her eyes and answer the exact same way when the glass slid open one more time and Joker stepped out, smirking to himself as he pulled a silver chain and bullet charm necklace from his pocket.

"Alright, so I found this in your jewelry box the other day and noticed how you _haven't _been wearing it…" he started, handing the necklace to her as he sat down at the last remaining chair, leaning back to cross his ankle over his other knee. His scars drooped in a slight scowl before he nodded at her, prompting her to take a closer look. "So I figured I would add to it."

As Jayde took the end of the necklace in her hand, eyeing the familiar bullet charm, her eyes widened when she noticed that he had added a charm to the necklace in the form of a silver-coated tooth- the tooth she had knocked out of his mouth when he had come to find her at her apartment, the day after that fateful night up in her bedroom. Joker grinned as Jayde laughed, handing it to Dotcom as he reached out for it, bringing it closer to his face to get a better look at the back tooth Joker had turned into a charm by coating it in molten silver and added a metal loop to the top so it would hang properly.

"Why?" she asked, watching with a smile as Joker shrugged, glancing over at Tre to take the blunt from him.

"Well, because no one, present company excluded," he motioned at Tre with his thumb. "-hits me _that _hard and lives to talk about it." With another hefty shrug of his shoulders, Joker took a long drag from the blunt, inhaling deeply before he exhaled a moment later. "I figured you would wanna keep it as a trophy or something." Jayde laughed, reaching out to take the chain back from Dotcom and place it around her neck where she was positive it would stay for a very long time. Just the fact that he had taken the time to make something so meaningful for her meant a great deal.

"Thanks," she finally said, smiling at him. "I really like it." He winked in response but looked to Tre as he huffed in a jokingly irritated way.

"And where's my gold star, bitch?" he asked somewhat loudly, glancing over at Jayde and Dotcom as Joker frowned but then nodded, passing the blunt to Jayde so he could reach into the pocket of his camouflage pants.

"It's _right _here…" he answered, slowly pulling his hand from the confines of the pocket, only to reveal his middle finger held up in a very rude way, leaving Tre to roll his eyes and Jayde and Dotcom to laugh.

Being that it was nearing two o'clock in the morning by the time the blunt went out, Joker leaned forward, blinking slowly as he admired the fuzzy, warm feeling the high was giving him. Next to him, Jayde was yawning heavily, Tre was finishing up his cigarette and Dotcom was looking about five seconds from passing out, so Joker sat up, resting his forearms on the table, taking a deep breath to exhale with a groan a moment later.

After excusing himself from the table, Joker ventured upstairs, grinning to himself when he imagined the lame sort of excuse Jayde was about to make up in order to follow him and he could just picture the way Tre and Dotcom rolled their eyes when she stood up to go inside. With a deep yawn, Joker reached up to his face, placing his hands over both of his scars to rub them downward heavily, smearing the remaining greasepaint to cover his jaw in one large, pink smear. The night had gone excellently if he did say so himself, but something about the thought that it had been his last, final crescendo in Gotham, his final attempt at tearing the city apart was making him the slightest bit sad and nostalgic. He could remember so clearly his first few weeks after arriving there, of meeting Maggie and starting to make connections, learning where everything was, lurking and stalking around in the dead of the night. His first robberies in Gotham had been almost like a game, so ridiculously easy, he could have easily done it with his eyes closed. Then of course, his first encounter with the Batman…What a joke…Escaping from prison in Gotham was almost _too _easy. But leaving had always been a part of the plan, once he had run his chaos amok and worn out his name. It was safe to say that _no one _in Gotham would soon forget the title 'The Joker' and honestly…he _really _liked it that way. So perhaps he _did _like the attention a little…

But the more he thought about it, the idea of starting over somewhere new, or even somewhere old, like Chicago, somewhere familiar to him, was exciting and he could not _wait _to introduce himself to the city, not as Kieron, but as himself- The Joker. He wondered what his first plan would be…He wondered if Jayde would be involved…

After a refreshing, intensely wonderful shower thanks to the remaining high floating around his brain, Joker had just stepped out into the bedroom in a pair of fresh, clean, comfortable pajama pants when he noticed Jayde, already laying in his bed, smelling wonderfully like coconut as though she too, had just emerged from a shower. She had changed into a tank top, revealing that she was still wearing that silver chain. Joker lay down next to her, admiring the way it fell perfectly along her chest, if anything, accenting the curves of her breasts. He turned onto his side facing her as she did the same to face him, smiling peacefully, sleepily at him, watching his features as he reached out, letting his fingers lightly trace the cool metal chain down from her neck, over her collarbones to the line of her tank top, where he paused, fighting himself on whether or not to make eye contact with her yet.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," he finally said, breaking that slightly romantic, peaceful silence, only to bring his eyes up when he felt her expression change from placid to show mild concern. That adorable crease formed between her eyebrows again as she frowned. Before she could ask, he went on, lowering his eyes once more to watch his finger travel back up along the chain. "I'm leaving Gotham tomorrow and…I don't think I'm comin' back," he finally explained, pausing again to see if Jayde would jump in. Surprisingly, she stayed quiet, obviously waiting for him to go on to say what she was hoping desperately he would. "If you want to come with me, you can…If not, I understand-…" At _this, _Jayde cut in, reaching up to wrap her small hand around his much larger one, ceasing it's movement so he was forced to look at her.

"Well…I kinda _have _to go with you…right?" she asked somewhat hopefully, failing miserably to disguise it as some different emotion. Joker saw right through this, but went on, shaking his head against the pillow.

"No, you don't have to. The tape I made of you pretty much clears your name. I talked to Linman yesterday. He-…" Joker paused, watching the way Jayde's eyes darted back and forth between his as she started to put the pieces together. "He told me that the cops think you've been drugged this whole time and that I've been forcing you along. So…you could probably go to them and give a few lines about-…"

"No, I'm coming with you," she immediately cut across him, scooting closer to him by only an inch or so, linking her fingers with his to bring his hand up and under her chin, where she kissed his knuckles lightly. "If you want me to." She paused before she smiled at him. "If not, I understand…"

If there was one thing Joker really liked about her, it was when she turned his own words against him, saying the exact same thing, but giving it a completely different meaning when used with her soft, sweet voice. He grinned, bringing up his other hand to push some of her hair away from her neck, to let his fingers rest there instead.

"I want you to."

Leaning forward, Jayde caught his lips gently, kissing him deeply as she turned slowly onto her back, reaching up to rest her hand on his broad, bare shoulder. Joker followed, rising onto his elbow just next to her as he returned the kiss, wondering why he had even put the offer out there for her to not come with him. She had said earlier that she didn't know what she would do without him; Joker realized now, as he kissed her, that he honestly, truly felt the same way.

His hand came up to the side of her face as he pulled away, smirking down at her from behind half-lidded eyes, gliding his thumb across her scar lightly. Jayde's eyes were still closed and he noticed her swallow hard, obviously fighting hard on whether or not to speak. So in an effort to help her just come out and say whatever it was, Joker leaned down again, placing his lips gently against her cheek, kissing her lightly several times as she shivered, sighing against him.

"Joker," she started, threading one of her hands up into the back of his hair gently. "I-…I think I love you."

"Jayde…" Joker started to reply, feeling a weight sink into the bottom of his stomach and his heart started to bang out of control as his nose and forehead rested against the side of her face lightly. "…Ithink you're crazy…"

The following morning passed surprisingly quickly as Jayde packed her clothes and belongings from her beautiful room. Joker had not said where they would be staying, but she was fairly confident it would neither be a five-star hotel nor a huge home of beauty and amenities like the one she was standing in, but either way, she was totally at peace with leaving Gotham and journeying on with her man and his two closest henchmen. She would definitely miss her comfortable bed, both her _and _Joker's, but honestly, she felt as though even sleeping on a couch would be totally fine as long as he was close and keeping her safe.

The garage door had been opening and closing all day, as Joker and Tre loaded boxes and bags into both the Escalade and truck but Jayde was somewhat surprised to find that Dotcom had not been out of his room at all since he had returned with the truck earlier. She found this a bit strange, being that he probably had more clothes and accessories than Joker, Tre _and _her combined but she figured he was so busy packing everything that he just hadn't even had time to step outside for a cigarette yet.

Finally, at around two o'clock, Jayde was just stepping out onto the landing with her last bag when Joker and Tre stepped back inside from the garage, laughing about who-knows-what. She smiled when Joker looked up and had to fight hard not to return the grin. Instead, he clapped his hands together, raising his eyebrows.

"You about ready to bounce, woman?" he asked as she approached, reaching out for her bag as she handed it to him, turning to glance up at the second story, where she was positive Dotcom would be appearing any moment.

"Yeah, but uh-…where is Dotcom?" she asked, looking from Joker to Tre and back a few times as they glanced at each other. Just then, the sound of a door opening upstairs caught her attention and she turned, only to spot her newest best friend trotting down toward them, smiling forcedly when he noticed her watching expectantly.

"Hey, where is your stuff?" she asked innocently, only to feel a huge weight sink into her stomach when he grew close enough for her to notice his watery eyes from behind his glasses. "You _are _coming with us, right?" she asked, her voice raised slightly as emotion began to work itself up in her. Dotcom's eyes flickered up to Joker and Tre's before he looked back down to her, his nose wrinkling as he shook his head.

"No, I'm gonna stay here for a few days and-…" he had just been about to explain when Jayde launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as tears sprang to her eyes and traveled down her cheeks, soaking into the shoulder of his shirt. Totally uncaring of what Joker or Tre thought, Dotcom and Jayde stood there for several long moments, hugging each other, trying to stop crying before they had to separate and pull back to look at each other.

"Where are you gonna go?" she asked with a slight whimper, finally stepping back to wipe her eyes with a nervous laugh at appearing so emotional and lady-like in front of the Joker and Tre. Amazingly, she exhaled quietly when she felt Joker place his hand on her back in a clueless sort of effort to comfort her. Dotcom moved his glasses to wipe his eyes.

"I'm gonna stay here for a few days, then go and stay in New York with a friend until I can get a job at a restaurant there," he explained, grinning at Jayde when she noticed an excited sparkle in his eyes. It was impossible to be upset that he was not coming along when it was obvious he was so thrilled to be going back to doing what he was truly passionate about. She sniffed heavily a few times before she laughed, nodding her head.

"Well, I'm really happy for you," she told him, although her nose wrinkled slightly as she melted into a few more tears. "I'm gonna miss you." At this, Joker broke the mood by interrupting with a loud, sarcastic, "_Awwww!" _Jayde and Dotcom both rolled their eyes at each other before going in for one last hug, before he turned to Joker and extended his hand.

"Boss, it's been a real pleasure," he said firmly, grinning up at him as he reached out, meeting him halfway for a solid handshake.

"Yes, I have," Joker answered, smirking.

As the Escalade pulled away from the house, following Tre's truck along the gravel driveway for the last time, Jayde tried hard to stifle her tears at leaving behind her best friend, and looked over when Joker's hand patted her knee.

"Don't worry, kiddo," he said bracingly. "I'm sure you'll end up seeing him again."

Jayde shook her head, resting her hand over his as it rested on her leg and she linked her fingers with his, not caring whether he wanted her to or not. "I know, I'm just going to miss having a friend around." She explained, reaching up with her free hand to wipe away the last of her tears, turning her head to watch those familiar fields pass by on the right for the last time. Beside her, Joker glanced over, frowning slightly before he looked back to the road.

"Well, ya still got your old pal Joker, baby," he offered comfortingly, resting back in the seat as Jayde leaned toward him, kissing him lightly on the shoulder through his shirt.

He was right. She _did _still have a best friend, a lover, a protector with her and even though he had not returned the words she had said to him the previous night, Jayde was positive he felt something that closely mimicked love toward her, even if it took days, weeks, months, or even years for him to admit it. It was only a matter of time…

A/N: ALRIGHT! THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE END! Unless of course, you're one of the amazing readers out there who is planning on participating in the contest! Again, a quick recap on the rules-

3 page _minimum- _no max (I wanna see your best!)

PLEASE check your grammar and spelling!

Use my characters and follow one of the two story lines from the endings. No adding of characters either, please, let's just stick to Tre*, Joker and Jayde for now.

Remember, you are writing either a prologue, OR a first chapter to a third part. No need to name it or anything like that.

And even if you have never written anything before in your life or feel like you aren't "good enough", write something and send it to me! I'm always open to read!

_I need all contest entries by August 16__th__ at midnight!_

The winning piece will be used as the prologue to the third part and the author will receive a copy of the new chapters a day before they are posted each time.

My brain is a bit fried from writing all of this so if I forgot to mention something and you have a question, feel free to email me or send me a private message through FF. Email is queenofmean389 AT gmail .com

**Remember! FIVE entries AT LEAST or the contest is off! I look forward to reading you work!**

Love _always, _The Queen of Mean

OH AND LEAVE ME A REVIEW! = ]


	38. Third Part of JnJ Series Is Out

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let you ALL know, the third part to the JnJ series is now started! It is called 'A Matter of Time' and you can find it listed on my profile page! There is already a prologue and three full chapters done! So head over and give it a read and a review and let me know how you like it so far! Thanks to EVERYONE for reading and reviewing Luscious Sin and Sweetest Vice and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on A Matter of Time. THANKS and happy reading!


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